North Hills residents who commute to jobs in New York City by train will soon have access to free shuttle transportation to the Manhasset Long Island Rail Road station.
Village of North Hills Mayor Marvin Natiss said the village board will vote on the proposal at the June 20 board meeting. He hopes the village will initiate the service on weekdays on a six-month trial basis starting July 1.
“It‘ll save them a lot of money for parking in Manhasset,” said Natiss, who spearheaded the initiative.
Natiss said between 250 and 300 residents indicated in a survey the village conducted six months ago that they would use the shuttle service.
Two shuttle buses will carry commuters to the Manhasset train station from the North Hills Village Hall and two buses will run from Christopher Morley Park in coordinated shifts between 6:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. each morning.
They will pick up North Hills commuters at the Manhasset station and drop them off at the respective morning pick-up locations between 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Cost of the service will be $250,000 for the six-month trial run, he said. The carrier will be Long Island Limo.
“If it gets the full use, that’ll be great. If we can’t, we can just cancel it,” he said.
If the service is used consistently, Natiss said the village will institute a “nominal” charge to the commuters to use it after the trial-period concludes.
Natiss said he is still interested in constructing a parking garage near the Manhasset train station for the exclusive use of North Hills commuters. He has discussed that concept with Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Jon Kaiman, but that project has not advanced beyond the talking stage. In the meantime, Natiss said he wanted to do something to help commuters in his village.
“I can’t just sit and wait,” he said.
