Catching the Hampton-Jitney has meant shorthand for a first-class ride for 45 years and counting. Here’s why.
When catering to some of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the country, exquisite service is not optional. Hampton Jitney has reached its 45th anniversary this year by providing the ritzy villages on Long Island with reliable, comfortable and stylish transportation to New York City and other destinations across the Northeast.
The Hamptons were described as “as close an approach to Eden as can be found” by the New York Times in 1893—and that hasn’t alternated much over the years: “Exclusive—in the best sense of the word—society is here represented during the summer by its choicest spirits. Well-bred men and women find a congenial atmosphere, refined attractions in plenty and innumerable charms about these quaint old villages.”
Service appropriate to that tradition has been building Hampton Jitney since 1974.
“We don’t take anything for granted,” said Andrew Lynch, vice president at the operator’s base in Southampton, New York. “The demographic of the prototypical Hamptons summer resident certainly helped raise the visibility of our service. It also puts a lot of pressure on us to make sure that we’ve got the service right.”
The company’s fleet of 60 motorcoaches (mostly Prevost with a handful from Van Hool) and six trolleys is a transportation lifeline for residents and visitors on Long Island. Hampton Jitney provides charters, tours, service between destinations on the island and scheduled line runs to multiple locations in New York City.
Long Island was home to agricultural and fishing communities when railroad service arrived in 1870. Wealthy New Yorkers began visiting its shores for summers away from the city’s heat, congestion and pollution. Magnificent mansions followed. Working farms still occupy some of the island that includes three of the country’s most expensive residential zip codes (the median home sale price is $8.5 million), but permanent residents also include artists and other professionals, some of whom work in New York.
“We have daily commuters,” Lynch said. “A number of our riders have talents they may not need to take to a physical office five days a week, so commuting into New York City two or three days a week is tolerable.”
Because of the infamous traffic jams from the city to the Hamptons, many consider the Hampton Jitney not just green-friendly but in some cases “the only way to travel in and out of Manhattan.”
It’s also made fun and especially comfortable thanks to the on-board attendant who accompanies riders on commuter runs of up to two-and-a-half hours. The attendant supplies Tazo teas and snacks—and owner Lynch got his start as one of these, collecting fares and serving drinks and snacks at age 16.
Passengers pay a bit more for enhanced comfort, he said.
“Years ago we recognized the need for a higher-end service. We introduced Ambassador Service, which uses our X3-45 Prevost in a 2+1 configuration with 30 seats,” Lynch said. “We offer higher-end amenities such as new-release movies and complimentary wine tastings from local vineyards. Demand for that service has been exceptionally robust.”
Fares for the company’s standard line runs range from $20 to $29 if tickets are purchased in advance online. An Ambassador ticket costs $45 in advance or $50 onboard. For another $5, passengers may reserve their favorite seats. Free Wi-Fi is a standard feature. “It is a tremendous expense but something that people have come to expect,” Lynch said.
Hampton Jitney maintains a vigorous line schedule, even after the busy summer season ends—a key to keeping customer loyalty. In peak season the company employs about 200 people. It has been a family business since 1974 when it was started by one of Lynch’s cousins. His brother Geoffrey is now company president.
“We have more than two dozen employees who have been with us more than 20 years. The longest is approaching 40 years,” Lynch said. “Making people feel like they are part of something useful gives them a feeling of purpose. We like to hire and promote from within. That helps us have more of a family atmosphere.”
The company continually reinvents itself, too, as one way to thrive amid the challenges of seasonality and increasingly restrictive regulatory environment. One service that made a story in the New York Post is the way the company will provide instant FedEx-style “shipping”—busing a passport inadvertently left at home to a frantic executive readying to board an international flight—to satisfying a craving for a certain food item only available in the city.
While seasonality and the regulatory environment continue to add pressure, the company works to “make life more convenient for our passengers and try to meet their transportation needs in new and different ways.”
