Many Sold-Out Trips on Hampton Jitney for Holiday Weekend, Spokeswoman Reports

The Hampton Jitney reported Friday that many of its Memorial Day trips sold out at least two weeks ago and that it has seen increased demand for trips to Sag Harbor and Montauk.

The company, which carries more than 600,000 passengers per year, does not release specific ridership numbers. However, Nina Bracovic, the marketing manager for the Jitney's passenger services department, said that this weekend is looking "very busy as usual."

"Our passenger counts are about the same as last year, though the lower fuel prices definitely encourage more people to drive," Ms. Bracovic said.

Sold-out notifications awaited would-be passengers on the Hampton Jitney's website, or they were told by a representative if they telephoned for reservations, Ms. Bracovic said. The Jitney doesn't use waiting lists, but rather allows walk-on passengers if there is any room on board.

To help meet demand, she said, the company recently boosted the number of routes in its Ambassador service -- kind of like an upscale sibling to the Jitney's traditional rides -- and has added about 20 vehicles to its fleet over the last two years.

"We've made a large investment in our on board Wi-Fi, which is free, to keep up with customer demand," Ms. Bracovic said. "We go through close to three terabytes of data per month on board, which is a tremendous amount of usage by our customers."

To accommodate weekenders, the Long Island Rail Road scheduled 10 extra eastbound trains for Friday, including connections to the Montauk line, across its various branches, it said in a statement on Thursday. The railroad will operate on a weekend schedule Saturday and Sunday and on a holiday schedule on Monday.