The supervisors of East Hampton and Southampton Towns, along with Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. and Suffolk Legislator Bridget Fleming, will celebrate the one-year anniversary of the South Fork Commuter Connection tomorrow by riding the 8:26 a.m. train from Hampton Bays to East Hampton.
The commuter connection comprises expanded Long Island Rail Road service and the “last mile” shuttle service to take passengers to their workplaces on weekday mornings. Late-afternoon bus and train service returns riders to their stations of origin. The initiative is intended to provide commuters a public transportation option and alleviate traffic congestion.
Few commuters took advantage of the coordinated rail and bus system upon its launch one year ago, but ridership increased over time. A statement from East Hampton Town Hall on Tuesday quoted L.I.R.R. records asserting that ticket sales rose from 324 in the program’s first month to 810 in May, and then sales remained in the 600-plus range through September.
As of November, 5,195 tickets had been issued for commuter connection trips, accounting for approximately 12 percent of L.I.R.R. ticket sales on the Speonk-to-Montauk line.
