Staten Islander starts shore shuttle service
Routes stop in Asbury Park, Belmar, Seaside Heights
A young New York resident has decided to capitalize on the lack of public transportation options between Staten Island and areas along the New Jersey coast.
Shore For Sure will begin shuttle service between Staten Island, Asbury Park, Belmar and Seaside Heights starting May 23. Service will run through the summer season until one week after Labor Day, according to owner Dylan McKeon.
“Currently there’s no public transportation from Staten Island to the shore, unless you consider four hours and four transfers [riding NJ Transit trains] an option,” he said.
Shuttles will depart Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons and Monday mornings from the Staten Island Mall and stop at the Empress Hotel in Asbury Park, Bar Anticipation in Belmar, and Club Karma in Seaside Heights.
Tickets to ride in one of the three, 15-passenger vans cost $20 one-way.
McKeon, a 30-year-old tax accountant who fell in love with the Jersey Shore after his first visit to Asbury Park, is marketing to young people who do not own their own vehicles, he said.
“The younger generation is driving less and less, and many do not drive. As such, Shore for Sure is a great way to get people to NJ and back quickly, comfortably and safely,” he said.
All of the shuttles have contact with remote dispatchers who will provide real-time traffic updates to drivers when traffic on the Garden State Parkway causes heavy delays to the roughly 45-minute trip, he said.
“Sometimes it’s the garden state parking lot, so traffic is an issue but we did make up for that in our schedules,” he said.
The updates will allow the drivers to reroute the vans if necessary.
“It’s great news for the Jersey shore and will bring people who could not have otherwise visited,” he said.
For more information, visit the Shore For Sure website.
[Photo at top taken from The Empress Hotel’s Facebook page.]
