For years, I have pursued the expansion of public transportation opportunities on the South Fork as a means of reducing traffic congestion, mitigating the impact on climate from automobile traffic, and providing residents with greater and long overdue options for mobility than just the automobile. I have been joined in this work by many others such as grassroots organizations like 5 Town Rural Transit (5TRT) as well as local town and village governments.

On the South Fork, our vision was to create increased train service to move people east and west to our hamlet centers by shuttle trains and coordinate the trains with bus and taxi service to move people from the train stations to population and employment centers. The concept got a successful trial run in 2007-2008 when County Road 39 was under reconstruction. Subsequently, I was successful in advocating for $37.5 million in the MTA Capital Budget for 2013 for special lighter diesel trains for permanent shuttle service.

However, the LIRR has never been successful in finding lighter diesels that would be compatible with the LIRR system and meet federal regulations. As a result, nearly a decade after the successful pilot program, no permanent action has been taken by the LIRR, with no prospects that things would change. Meanwhile, traffic congestion continues to worsen across the South Fork, as witnessed by the recent Memorial Day weekend.

On May 19, I met in my Bridgehampton Office with LIRR President Patrick Nowakowski to discuss this matter. I am pleased to report that we have agreed on a new strategy to pursue more public transit service on the South Fork. This strategy will involve the following actions:

1. The LIRR will meet with East End officials for a strategy meeting in Riverhead in early July.
2. The LIRR has agreed to explore at the meeting the establishment of a permanent South Fork Shuttle Service similar to that provided on a pilot basis in 2007-2008. The commitment of the LIRR to provide such service would be dependent on the willingness of the County and local government to provide needed ancillary support, such as connecting transportation, marketing, and public outreach to grow and sustain ridership for the long term.
3. The initial goal would be to establish such service no later than 2017 with 2 morning shuttles and one afternoon shuttle.
4. Existing diesel locomotives would be utilized to provide the service. The appropriation for new diesels would be used to meet other LIRR capital needs.

I view this as the first positive development for increased South Fork service in years. However, it will take a concerted effort among the LIRR, local government, business leaders, and the community to make this successful. I look forward to leading this effort.