Officials urge Long Islanders to give up driving this Sunday, lean on public transportation

Transportation officials are urging Long Islanders to ditch their cars, trucks or SUVs on Sunday and instead use public transportation to cut down on emissions.

Sunday will mark the 12th annual Car Free Day Long Island, part of an international effort that aims to turn a one-day sacrifice into a year-round habit to combat climate change.

At a Farmingdale State College gathering of transportation officials and advocates Wednesday morning, Car Free Day Long Island co-chair Mindy Germain said 3,419 Long Islanders had already pledged to give up driving Sunday.

Despite ongoing work to improve public transportation and bolster other options, such as e-bikes, Long Islanders still place a premium on driving.

“It’s easy to do Car Free Day in NYC, but to do Car Free Day on Long Island is a Herculean task,” said Samuel Schwartz, a former NYC traffic commissioner. Schwartz added that he does not “see as much micromobility when I come out to Long Island.”

Transportation officials noted improvements and new alternatives designed to get more Long Island riders.

The LIRR has made “major investments in recent years in making our system larger, more modern … more user friendly,” including the Third Track in Nassau County and the new Grand Central Madison terminal, to “remain competitive” said Neville Perkins, the LIRR's vice president of capital program delivery and oversight.

Newsday previously reported LIRR ridership increased 17% in the first half of 2024 compared with the same period last year.

The LIRR had anticipated collecting $1.5 billion in congestion pricing revenue before Gov. Kathy Hochul halted the plan in June. Schwartz said congestion pricing could have served as an incentive for Long Island drivers to choose mass transit, reducing emissions.

To bolster micromobility, the Long Island Bicycle Cooperative donated 16 bicycles for the New York State Department of Transportation’s statewide mobility services program, according to Emma Balsam, a sustainable mobility specialist with ICF, a consultant group supporting the program. Residents can borrow bikes — for free — at the Spin The Yard training center in Wyandanch and the Peninsula Public Library in Lawrence. Four additional bikes will be available at the Comsewogue Public Library in Port Jefferson Station next month.

But even with more bikes, Long Islanders still need more and safer places to ride.

“I’ve ridden in 27 countries; I’ve ridden … from New York to California,” said Martin Buchman, of the New York Bicycling Coalition. “Long Island is the single most — let’s call it challenging — place to ride safely.”

In 2022, Nassau Inter-County Express launched an on-demand mini-bus service that stretches from Lynbrook to Merrick and started a similar pilot program in the Syosset area in July.

“That is the next generation,” Schwartz said. “We know buses lumbering around every 30 minutes with capacities of 40 or 50 people are inefficient in some communities. This is far greater efficiency.”

Even with expanding programs, converting most Long Islanders to mass public transit usage is unlikely. It’s also not the goal, Schwartz said.

He hopes to see the number of Long Islanders who rely on public transportation increase from 11% currently to 25% by 2050 to reduce automobile greenhouse gas emissions by 10%.

“I think that’s a reasonable target,” he said.