On April 5th, the 8,000+ workers in the GatewayJFK area will have a new option to get to and from work. GatewayJFK in partnership with the application Dollaride is set to launch a subsidized shuttle service to help workers commute from the Jamaica transit hub to our bustling cargo, hotel, and commercial job center.
The shuttle will run every work day from 5:00 AM to 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM and is expected to shave 20 minutes off of an average worker’s commute. Riders will be able to request a pickup or a stop anywhere along the shuttle route by using an app on their mobile phone. The route will run chiefly along Rockaway Blvd. to Guy R. Brewer Blvd. inside the GatewayJFK district.
To help build the service, GatewayJFK turned to the rideshare startup Dollaride – which facilitates an app-based payment portal for New York’s dollar van industry. Employees will be able to track their shuttle, reserve a seat, and digitally pay for their ride with the Dollaride app.
To promote the new route, GatewayJFK and Dollaride are giving away 60 free rides to the first 300 people who sign up. To redeem rides, users must sign up at dollaride.com/gateway-jfk-promotion.
Research from the urban planning firm WXY Studio found that workers in the area who use the subway spend more than one hour commuting in each direction. The shuttle service is expected to reduce that number down to 40 minutes.
“Most of the transit in the area has been focused on getting passengers to and from the JFK terminal area, but our business community developed alongside the airport and off airport property, so unfortunately they haven’t been able to benefit from those connections,” GatewayJFK Executive Director Scott Grimm-Lyon said. “Up until now, it’s been one of those ‘you can’t get there from here’ scenarios.”
GatewayJFK and Dollaride are hoping that the model, where community development organization partners with a tech startup like Dollaride, can be a model for micro mobility in the future. The service is intended to kick-start a new dollar van route and attract more vans in the long term.
