Qwik Ride Launches Downtown Transportation
Long Island has no shortage of public transportation systems. From buses, trains and cabs to Lyft and Uber—our island is saturated with ways to get from A to B. But all of these services cost money. For those who would rather spend their money on food, drinks and activities, Qwik Ride is now out on downtown Farmingdale’s streets to offer free transport around town.
The unique car service first started in Patchogue in 2018 with just two cars. Today, Long Island’s newest car service has a fleet of more than 30 cars servicing Patchogue, Huntington, Port Jefferson, Northport, Bay Shore, Long Beach and, of course, Farmingdale.
Founded by Dan Cantelmo and John Yancigay, Qwik Ride is the product of a similar concept the duo witnessed while in Nashville, TN. While the Nashville version was a paid service, the friends thought to bring it to Long Island for free; the cost for the vehicles, which are electric golf cart-style cars, is covered through local sponsors—in this case, downtown Farmingdale merchants.
The company has seen much success in the few Long Island areas it currently services. In fact, when Qwik Ride first launched last year, its first summer in Patchogue saw more than 9,000 rides. With the goals of alleviating traffic, opening up more parking in downtown areas and providing those having a fun night out with safe transportation, it was a no-brainer that the next step for the company would be bringing the cars to Farmingdale’s ever-popular Main Street.
Farmingdale, which is the first Nassau County area to receive the service, is set to have two cars running around downtown; should the company prove to be popular with Dalers, more cars could be added to the Farmingdale fleet.
Similar to other ride services, a Qwik Ride car can be hailed through requesting it on the mobile app—available on both the App Store and Google Play store. A car can also be waved down if a guest sees one on the street. The cars will be out and about Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings. As long as a guest’s pick-up and drop-off locations are within the service area, the driver of the car will confirm with the guest that they are on their way. While the service is free, Qwik Ride encourages guests to tip their driver.
As the service grows into Farmingdale, keep an eye out for the cars the next time you’re out and about on Main Street. Should there be room in the vehicle, wave one down and take Qwik Ride for a spin.
For more information about Qwik Ride, visit www.qwikrides.com.
