Eight years after its trial run, the Peconic Jitney, a ferry service that provided a direct link between Sag Harbor and Greenport, may return this summer.
“It would likely start in either May or June. May is what we’re hoping for,” said Jim Ryan, a manager at the company, a subsidiary of the Hampton Jitney.
In June 2012, the ferry service launched with an 83-day pilot program. During its run, said Mr. Ryan, 18,590 passengers opted to use it rather than travel by car. “That’s less congestion, less carbon emissions, less wear and tear on our highways, and people were able to travel on the Peconic Bay, which is as beautiful as Sag Harbor and Greenport themselves,” he said.
The passengers also provided an economic boon to the villages. “Restaurant owners said they were grateful for the business from the ferry,” Mr. Ryan said. “If each of those 18,590 people had spent $50, that would lead to about $1 million in revenue.”
Despite its success, the service ended after its trial run because the company was unable to secure federal or state funding to continue it. Mr. Ryan is more optimistic about procuring grant money this time around.
To get the ferry back up and running annually, the company is seeking a long-term agreement to dock at Long Wharf in Sag Harbor, and at either Mitchell Park or another dock in Greenport. “We’re looking to operate from May 1 to Oct. 31, that would be our season,” Mr. Ryan said.
One major hitch: finding a ferry to use. “When we did this back in 2012, we chartered New York City water taxi boats, and we were able to do that because, at the time, ferry service was not considered a viable means of transportation.” The industry, he said, “was so depressed they had boats sitting at their dock not doing anything.”
These days, ferry transit is booming, which makes it hard, or at least prohibitively expensive, to charter a vessel. Mr. Ryan will be heading soon to West Sayville to take a look at a 133-passenger craft that is available. For future use, the company plans to build a 155-passenger ferry of its own, which would take 18 months to two years.
Despite numerous logistical hurdles, Mr. Ryan sounded confident that there will be ferry service this summer. “Last time, we started at exactly the same time,” he said. “We had to go to the Suffolk County Legislature to get our franchise license, we started that process in February and we had the license by June. Now that we have a history of doing this, we can expedite the process.”
The proposal received a warm reception from members of the Sag Harbor Village Board when Mr. Ryan presented it to them last month, but they asked for more details, particularly the impact on parking. “Parking is a big issue,” Mr. Ryan conceded. “It was important the last time, and it is now.” In 2012, the company leased space at Pierson High School during the summer and provided shuttle bus service to Long Wharf. “On the weekends, people used the Pierson lot, but during the week people were mostly parking on the street.”
Most spaces on the village streets have a two-hour parking limit. The ferry would take 45 minutes each way, which would not leave passengers much time for anything other than a boat ride. Another option, said Mr. Ryan, would be to encourage passengers to use public transit, particularly Suffolk County bus S92, which runs through most towns and villages on the North and South Forks.
If the Peconic Jitney does return this summer, the ferry would make 12 round trips Sunday through Thursday, and 16 on Fridays and Saturdays. Tickets would cost $27 round trip, $16 one way. If it’s a success, it could be the first step to a larger ferry transit system.
“Riverhead would be a great spot, because coming from here, it’s hard to get to by car, but if there were a ferry, so many more people would see all the great things they’re doing in downtown Riverhead,” Mr. Ryan said.
“You could increase the service as the demand increases. I would hope to have at least three ferries to do this service between Greenport and Sag Harbor, then maybe down the road, we’d say, ‘Let’s go to Montauk,’ and we’d have a ferry go there and back, which would be great.”
