Montauk Welcomes Free Hampton Hopper Bus Transit Over Fourth Of July Weekend

It’s a warm Monday morning at the entrance to Hither Hills State Park on Old Montauk Highway in Montauk, when an aqua green bus pulls up at 10. Its door swings open to reveal Arlene Pastore in the driver’s seat, greeting passengers with a friendly hello and asking where they’re going.

If this were a different bus, like a Suffolk County Transit vehicle, passengers might be pulling out their wallets and asking if they could get a ride to local highlights like Kirk Park Beach or the Montauk Yacht Club. But the 67-year-old, and the other three drivers who will be operating this and a second white bus this summer, won’t ask for a dime.

While this past weekend was not the first to feature the previously fare-collecting Hampton Hopper bus routes in the Hamptons for the summer, it was the first weekend of the Hopper offering transit free of charge, courtesy of the Town of East Hampton. This summer, the now free-to-ride Hopper is backed by a $100,000 state grant that East Hampton Town obtained in June. The Hopper is expected to earn an additional $25,000 by selling advertisements on the buses’ exteriors.

The transport for Montauk, called “the Montauk Loop,” which launched on Wednesday, June 28, and will continue until September 4, runs from the Hither Hills State Park entrance to nine other stops, including Gurney’s Montauk Resort, the Montauk information center at the Montauk Plaza, and the Gosman’s Dock complex, ending at the Long Island Rail Road station off Flamingo Avenue. Depending on traffic, the bus usually takes five to 10 minutes to reach each stop and about 45 minutes to complete the loop.

The two buses run 30 minutes apart from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and those looking to hitch a ride can track the buses on the Hopper’s mobile phone app at hamptonhopper.com.

The town’s hope is that the Hopper buses will provide a fast and easy transport for Montauk, which is often crowded with tourists and beachgoers in the summertime. Ms. Pastore, a longtime resident of Mastic Beach who’s driven for the Montauk School District and the Hampton Jitney, provided transport for the Fourth of July crowd, arguably the busiest time of the summer season.

She said that she drove more than 160 people on Sunday and more than 200 people the day before, based on notes she takes to keep track of her passengers each day.

Not that she minds it when her bus is bustling.

“I was hoping it was busy, because it makes the time go by quicker,” she said during her route on Monday morning. “They also talk to me sometimes, which is nice,” she said of her passengers. “A lot of people really like this service. Some even say to pick up anyone we can, just to keep it going.”

Ms. Pastore’s passengers so far have been mostly tourists and families, including a family of 30 who came on her bus this past weekend. She said the weekend was “constantly busy,” with droves of passengers coming on and off the bus throughout the day, while Thursday and Friday were slower, with peak hours from 4 to 9 p.m., “when people were coming off the beach.”

Ms. Pastore had only had one bad situation to deal with so far: a drunk passenger on Saturday who came on board from the train station. She said she dropped him off at Main Street to prevent him from bothering other passengers, and that she made sure that he took a taxicab home.

“I told him, ‘This is your stop,’” she said.

Fortunately for Ms. Pastore, her other passengers are much more grateful for the ride. Take Kelly Howard, visiting Montauk from New York City for the Fourth of July at the Burcliffe by the Sea resort on Old Montauk Highway. She was happy to have the bus get her out of the 80-degree heat, along with her 10-year-old Yorkie, Marley, panting heavily on her lap while riding the Hopper.

“I think this is a great service,” Ms. Howard said. “It costs $20 to go into town normally with a taxicab or getting a bike.”

The bus also serves as reliable and easy transport for working people in Montauk. Niamh O’Connor, 22, is visiting the hamlet from Galway, Ireland, and working at the Montauk Beach House on South Elmwood Avenue. She piled onto the Hopper from Gosman’s with a group of young fellow visitors from Ireland also working in Montauk, appreciating a better and cheaper means of getting to their jobs.

“Taxis out here are so expensive, and it’s hard to find a ride,” Ms. O’Connor said on the bus. “It’s so busy, and I’m out here for the whole summer, so this is a great service.”

Angelo Padilla, 61, who’s working at Gosman’s for the summer, said he enjoys the “beautiful ride” through the hamlet and will continue to enjoy the ride on one condition: “I’ll use it as long as it’s free.”