Beach shuttle program in Stony Brook could end after low ridership

A program aimed at providing free shuttles to a Stony Brook beach on Long Island Sound has struggled with low ridership and might not return next summer, the service's organizers said.

A pair of Stony Brook University professors launched the weekend shuttle to and from West Meadow Beach on June 1 in the hopes of attracting a private sponsor. The project used a $470,000 grant from New York Sea Grant, a university nonprofit, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Long Island Sound Study.

The researchers hoped to analyze the best ways to bring underserved populations closer to the beach. West Meadow Beach is a Brookhaven Town park, which also includes access to West Meadow Creek.

The professors, Elizabeth L. Hewitt and Anil Yazici, sought to address what they said was a serious gap in Long Island's public transportation system. The town-run beach is inaccessible by train or public bus system, they said. 

The researchers hoped to attract people who live far from the beach, don't have cars or worry that parking is too expensive. But the first two months of the program fell short of expectations, the professors said, leaving them unsure of its future.

"We advertised in churches, libraries, [with] flyers, [at] transit stations. We reached out to community organizations," Yazici, a civil engineering professor at Stony Brook, said. "It’s difficult to reach the people."

Fifteen beachgoers used the shuttle on Saturday, said Hewitt, a technology and society professor at Stony Brook. The program never had more than five people for any other trip, and the shuttle often was canceled over a lack of riders, she said.

The funding expires in March, and the shuttle will be discontinued next year without a corporate sponsor, Hewitt added. 

"This is the last summer," she said. "If there was good evidence that this was sustainable or successful, our thought was maybe someone would want to pick this up."

Flexigo, a Santa Monica, California-based company that specializes in corporate and campus transportation, had provided vans and navigation for the service. Flexigo did not respond to requests for comment. 

Carmetta Freeman, president of Dare to Dream Community Outreach, a Gordon Heights nonprofit that offers programs for youth and seniors, was one of five group members to use the shuttle in July. Her group booked another trip last Saturday, bringing 15 people for rides, she said.

The shuttle makes it easier for some people to go to the beach because they don't have to pay parking fees, Freeman said. "If you have a big family [and] you have to take two cars or something, it can be costly," she said. 

Parking costs $5 per hour on weekends, Brookhaven officials said. Seasonal park passes cost $32; discounted and free passes are available for senior citizens and disabled veterans.

The Stony Brook shuttle could address shortcomings in Long Island's public transportation system, said Alec Slatky, a managing director for AAA's northeast regional office.

"The lack of any north-south rail service on Long Island has bedeviled the Island for decades and decades," he said. "I think when you look at these on-demand shuttles, it's trying to fill a void."

By Carl MacGowan

carl.macgowan@newsday.comCarlMacGowan

Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.