A Matter Of Timing

The recent announcement that the service, starting this week, is adding an evening stop in Westhampton, arriving at 6:01 p.m., was welcome news. So the teacher who stays late sometimes to lead after-school activities can now take the train every day. The hospital worker whose shift is more than the typical eight-hour workday has been extended the opportunity to take the train. However, the additional evening stop did not come with a corresponding additional morning stop. So those 9-to-5-ers who live well west of Hampton Bays will continue to find driving the more convenient choice.

Until the trains are more frequent — at all stops — the service will have no noticeable effect on morning traffic, and risk having too many empty seats to continue to justify its existence. It would be a shame to lose a service that was in the works for so many years because the implementation didn’t adequately match the needs of commuters.