As the Taxi & Limousine Commission prepares to launch its dollar-van program along now-defunct bus routes, transit advocates are watching to see how and if these routes become profitable. The MTA says many of their eliminated routes were cost-prohibitive to run, but tossing these services to private operators allows for more flexibility. Private operators can run fewer buses and aren’t beholden to the demands of a public-benefit corporation as the MTA is. Whether these routes can be run at cost or with a profit remains to be seen.
Today in the Wall Street Journal, Jen Weiczner profiles the Hampton Jitney, one of New York’s longest running and most successful private transportation companies. The Jitney, which offers luxury trips to the Hamptons over the summer and chartered rides in the winter, makes $20 million a year and, as Weiczner reports, has cornered the market on mass transit to the Hamptons. “For 36 years, the company has maintained a near monopoly on express transportation to the Hamptons,” she writes, “drawing passengers with newspapers, snacks and beverages – all handed out, airplane-style, by uniformed attendants. And every so often, passengers get goodie bags with products that advertisers pay the Jitney to distribute like Tory Burch gift cards and Vera Bradley accessories.”
Of course, the Hamptons Jitney is in a bit of a unique situation. It caters to a very wealthy clientele that expects upper-class service, and it covers distances greater than any New York City bus route would. Still, the Jitney shows that public transportation can be, in limited ways, a profitable undertaking. I don’t expect the dollar vans to fair quite as well, but if run properly, they should be adequate replacements for the lost bus service.
Leave a Reply