Hamptons Subway Launches 'Adopt a Subway' Program

SCENE ON THE SUBWAY

There were no celebrities spotted on the subway this week. A few got down to the platforms but after a few of the trains came through they checked their watches, changed their minds and took the escalators to walk back home.

RIDERS UP, MILES DOWN

This week, our ridership count shows an increase from the prior week, which is normal for this time of year as the summer season approaches, but our rider miles are down. People are taking shorter subway rides. This is an unusual phenomenon, not ever seen before by our actuaries who keep track of these things, and so we have conducted a little informal survey to determine the reason. What we have found is that because of the nice springtime weather last week, riders are choosing as much as possible to visit friends nearby rather than those who live far away. Why?  When they decide to call a friend, they think – I really want to spend as much time out of doors as I can rather than down in the dirty, grimy subway so I will choose friends I can visit with the shortest trip. That explains it.

ADOPT A SUBWAY TUNNEL

Hampton Subway will inaugurate next week the first ever “Adopt a Subway Tunnel” program. Participants will get their names on this little sign at the beginning of their area on the system which will say that so-and-so is cleaning up the debris for the next mile, and then name that person.

All participants will be given a wooden stick with a metal point on the end, a hat with a flashlight on it, a trash bag and a 50 page manual which will show you what exercises you can do when not picking up the trash that will sharpen your reflexes for the times when the trains come through, which they do every nine minutes.  In it, there are instructions about the quickest way to jump to one side, how to flatten yourself against the wall of the tunnel to let the train rumble through, and how to continue on where you left off after the train has passed.

Overall cost to become an “adopt a subway tunnel” volunteer will be $600 a month with a minimum 24 month commitment, to cover the loss the subway might suffer if your absence due to injury results in an unusual accumulation of garbage out on the track.

LEAVE YOUR CAR AT HOME

This is good advice from our beloved commissioner Bill Aspinall.

Leave your car at home. Walk to the subway. There is a subway station every three miles along the Highway in the Hamptons so the walk will never be more than a mile and a half.

The benefits of walking are great – not only does it save you time, money, and improve your health, it’s also a sustainable method of transportation that helps reduce your carbon footprint. It also will help you lose that extra weight that everybody says you’ve put on.  It is never far from our notice, watching the crowds trying to come down the escalators or squeezing through the sliding doors into the cars that there is an obesity epidemic in America.

Today, almost 4% of subway riders walk to their station.  Our goal is to increase that percentage to at least 5%.

CARPOOLING

If you’re not capable of walking very far, to the station or otherwise, you can still save money by contacting our contracted carpool organization service, CarPool.Noyac.Hamptons.com.  Carpooling is also good for the environment.

BIKE TO THE TRAIN

Here’s what you need to know about taking a bike on a train. On weekdays, between 6:30 and 9:30 a.m., no bikes are permitted on the trains due to the morning rush. The same is also true between 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. These rules do not apply on Saturdays or Sundays or any national holidays or off-peak time during the week. If you get on a train with a bike during the times you are allowed to get on, but then while you are on it taking your ride it becomes a time when bikes are banned, no matter where you are, get off the train with your bike. Ride the rest of the way. Isn’t that what the bikes were for?

People have asked us about folding bikes. Folding bikes are allowed on trains at any time, provided they are in the folding position at all times. Folding bikes may not be left overnight on a train, and they may not block the sliding doors, the doors to a bathroom or the door to the motorman’s booth.

Here’s the skinny about power assisted electric bikes.  Electric bikes that display a manufacturer’s label and meet federal motor vehicle safety regulations are permitted on the subway. Electric bikes are subject to the same rules as conventional bikes, except since they do not fold up they need not be at all times in the folded position.

Hampton Subway posts a “no bikes” symbol at various other locations where they are not allowed, such as wheelchair accessible doorways or washrooms.

COMMISSIONER BILL ASPINALL’S MESSAGE

I am on a well earned vacation in the South of France at this time and should be back in a week or so. Any news I ought to know about?