It may not be drawing the number of commuters Village of North Hills Mayor Marvin Natiss had hoped for when service started last summer, but the North Hills commuter shuttle to the Manhasset Long Island Rail Road station will keep on rolling.
“Even though it’s underutilized, we’re keeping it going,” Natiss said. “Our board is committed to continue the shuttle service because it is a great service to the residents.”
Natiss said he was pleased with testimonials from 20 North Hills residents who attended last Wednesday night’s village board meeting to demonstrate their support for the service.
Running for nearly one year, the free shuttle between North Hills Village Hall and the Manhasset station and back is being used by about 50 North Hills residents, according to Natiss, who said it’s costing the village approximately $200,000 to $225,000 per year to maintain.
Natiss said those who are using it appreciate it and real estate brokers have told him it’s making it easier for them to sell homes in North Hills.
“We’re doing the right thing. We’re going to keep it going,” Natiss said. “It’s worth it. The residents park there and it saves them all that aggravation.”
In January, Nattis announced a change in the service when he made arrangements with Long Island Limousine to replace two 20-seat passenger buses shuttling village residents with two 14-passenger buses.
Now Natiss said the village board is considering a shift in the shuttle hours, reducing the morning runs between 7:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. to a 9 a.m. final run. He said he will be discussing another change with Long Island Limousine – adding at least one late bus to the evening run, which currently goes from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The late bus would run at 8 p.m. or 8:30 p.m., he said.
The service was conceived by Natiss, North Hills Deputy Mayor Dennis Sgambati and resident commuter Eli Weinberg, who was among those present at last week’s board meeting.
Natiss said he’s still hopeful that the shuttle will increase its passenger load and he’s planning to actively plug it among village residents.
“We’re going to continue to promote it,” Natiss said. “We’ll send out more advertising to the local residents.”
