The North Hills Board of Trustees last Wednesday agreed to send out a request for proposal for shuttle vendors for the commuter shuttle service that travels between Village Hall and the Long Island Railroad Station in Manhasset.
Village of North Hills Mayor Marvin Natiss said the current vendor, Long Island Limousine, has served the village since the program’s inception, but the village would now like to receive competitive bids from other vendors.
The service, which began in 2012, provides transportation for village residents between morning rush hours of 6:30 a.m. and 9 a.m. and evening hours of 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on weekdays, running every half hour. Residents must present an ID card that proves their residency before riding one of the shuttles.
Natiss said Long Island has experienced an expansion of limousine services and equipment for these services since the original request for proposals were sent out in 2012. The board has now sent out RFPs to seven vendors that it hopes to hear back from.
The request requires the vendor to provide two shuttles to ensure that there is one shuttle providing service to the railroad station while the other one is returning from it, Natiss said.
Natiss said the service, which is free to North Hills residents, costs the village about $12,000 each month, but the cost is dependent on the number of working days in the month, as the shuttle does not run on holidays or weekends.
The shuttle, he said, has seen increased usage by village residents.
In comparing June 2014 to June 2015, Natiss said morning usage increased from 669 residents to 804 residents and evening usage has increased from 629 residents to 739 residents.
He said the board is looking to make a decision regarding the shuttle at its next board meeting.
“We’re anxious to finalize this,” Natiss said.
At the meeting, the board also chose not to approve a request for a bike rack to be installed in the shuttle parking lot.
“We felt it was not necessary,” Natiss said. “We didn’t want people traversing on Shelter Rock Road on a bicycle.
Even though the village has no risk because you ride at your own peril, it’s a commuter shuttle service and we felt it wasn’t needed.”
In 2014, the village added more than 10 parking spaces to the shuttle parking lot for cars as the usage expanded.
Natiss, who goes to the lot almost every other day to evaluate the usage, said there are “plenty of spaces.”
The mayor also re-appointed Deputy Mayor Dennis Sgambati, Village Administrator, Clerk/Treasurer Marianne C. Lobaccaro, and Deputy Clerk Treasurer Suzanne M. Daly to their positions at the meeting.
The board will hold its next meeting on Aug. 19 at 7:30 p.m. at Village Hall.
