Huntington Town unveils new bus routes, maps

The new year will bring changes to the Huntington Area Rapid Transit bus system for the first time since it began in 1978.

HART, the only town-operated bus system on Long Island, has finalized the route and schedule changes that will take effect Jan 2.

Riders and residents were invited to weigh in and ask questions about the proposed changes at two informational meetings this fall. Town Supervisor Frank P. Petrone said town employees working on the changes took suggestions offered at the two meetings, as well as in letters, emails and comment forms left on the buses and made adjustments so that the new schedules would better serve current and future riders.

“The format of the public sessions was extremely successful,” Huntington Supervisor Frank P. Petrone said. “It afforded the HART passengers an opportunity to sit and discuss the proposed routes with HART employees and representatives from my office.”

The changes will replace the existing three routes with four new routes, adding 20.5 miles to the system. Buses will run more frequently than under current schedules. The changes will reduce the need to transfer between buses to complete trips.

The final plan restores bus service to Cold Spring Harbor and increases the frequency of that service. Bus service has also been restored to Centerport and Northport Harbor. Under the new schedules, the H-10, H-20 and H-30 routes will operate every 45 minutes and the H-40 every 60 minutes.

Bus schedules and a bus system map are available on the town website at http://huntingtonny.gov/permit_pics/1463.pdf.