The North Fork Trolley is launching this September with more than a dozen stops across Peconic, Southold and Greenport – and for a limited time, the service is free of charge.
The service will run each Saturday through November 11 from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. Two trolleys ride the route simultaneously, so that a trolley arrives at each stop approximately every 20 minutes.
Riders can track the location of each trolley and see a map of the stops on the North Fork Promotional Council’s new app, Go North Fork (iOS | Android).
“We’re hoping people will take the train to Greenport, hop on the trolley, check out some local businesses and then take the train home,” said Denis Noncarrow, Southold government liaison officer. “This could be a good way to get the cars of the roads.”
From now until October 7, the trolleys will run a route between Peconic and Greenport. From October 14 to November 11, the route will switch to new stops between Mattituck and Peconic.
“This fall we wanted to try things out, see what issues come up and get everything running smoothly,” Noncarrow explained. “Hopefully next year we can do both routes simultaneously from June to November, all weekend long.”
Though the town originally planned to charge $10 for a full-day pass for the service, they opted to waive the fee while the service is getting off the ground. The trolley will likely be free for this entire first season, Noncarrow said.
The service is currently being funded from contributions by East End Tourism, the Long Island Wine Council, the North Fork Promotional Council and several other local businesses and community organizations.
The town has applied for several grants to secure additional funding for next year, Noncarrow said.
“If we can find the funding, we’d like to eventually link this into Riverhead too,” he said.
Noncarrow, who first pitched the trolley pilot program to the town board in May, hopes the service could eventually help alleviate traffic on local roadways during the height of tourist season.
“People are getting turned off from the jam up on the roads,” he said. “Just trying to figure out some method to get the cars off the roads is key.”
