Subscribe to Guide
No Result
View All Result
Hamptons.com
  • Spotlight Magazine
  • Lifestyle
    • Featured
    • Entertainment
    • Arts
    • Community
    • Dining
    • Recreation
    • Trending
  • Events
    • Events Calendar
    • Post an Event
    • Gallery
  • Real Estate
    • Real Estate Features
    • Search Real Estate
      • Open Houses
      • Search Sales
      • Search Rentals
    • Title Insurance
    • Happening In The Hamptons Podcast
  • Live Cameras
    • All Live Cameras
    • Live Weather Cams
    • Amagansett, Atlantic Avenue Beach
    • Bridgehampton, West Scott Cameron Beach
    • East Hampton Village, Main Beach
    • East Hampton Village, Main Street
    • East Hampton Village, Newtown Lane
    • Hampton Bays, Ponquogue Beach
    • Hampton Bays, Ponquogue Bridge
    • Hampton Bays, Shinnecock Fishing Dock
    • Hampton Bays, Tiana Beach
    • Long Island Aquarium | Coral Reef
    • Long Island Aquarium | Penguins
    • Long Island Aquarium | Shark Tank
    • Montauk, Downtown Circle
    • Montauk, Lars Simenson Skatepark
    • Montauk, Gin Beach & Inlet
    • Montauk, Sunset Beach & Inlet
    • Sagaponack, Sagg Main Beach
    • Sag Harbor, Foster Memorial Beach
    • Sag Harbor, Long Wharf Marina
    • Sag Harbor, Main Street (South)
    • Sag Harbor, Windmill Beach & Bay
    • Shelter Island, South Ferry
    • Southampton, 39A to Montauk Hwy Merge
    • Southampton, Conscience Point Marina
    • Southampton Village, Coopers Beach
    • Southampton Village, Main Street (South)
    • Southampton Village, Main Street (North)
    • Southampton Village, Main Street (Hildreths)
    • Westhampton Village, Main Street (East)
    • Westhampton Village, Rogers Beach
  • Public WiFi
    • Public WiFi Map
    • Public Wi-Fi Support
  • Spotlight Magazine
  • Lifestyle
    • Featured
    • Entertainment
    • Arts
    • Community
    • Dining
    • Recreation
    • Trending
  • Events
    • Events Calendar
    • Post an Event
    • Gallery
  • Real Estate
    • Real Estate Features
    • Search Real Estate
      • Open Houses
      • Search Sales
      • Search Rentals
    • Title Insurance
    • Happening In The Hamptons Podcast
  • Live Cameras
    • All Live Cameras
    • Live Weather Cams
    • Amagansett, Atlantic Avenue Beach
    • Bridgehampton, West Scott Cameron Beach
    • East Hampton Village, Main Beach
    • East Hampton Village, Main Street
    • East Hampton Village, Newtown Lane
    • Hampton Bays, Ponquogue Beach
    • Hampton Bays, Ponquogue Bridge
    • Hampton Bays, Shinnecock Fishing Dock
    • Hampton Bays, Tiana Beach
    • Long Island Aquarium | Coral Reef
    • Long Island Aquarium | Penguins
    • Long Island Aquarium | Shark Tank
    • Montauk, Downtown Circle
    • Montauk, Lars Simenson Skatepark
    • Montauk, Gin Beach & Inlet
    • Montauk, Sunset Beach & Inlet
    • Sagaponack, Sagg Main Beach
    • Sag Harbor, Foster Memorial Beach
    • Sag Harbor, Long Wharf Marina
    • Sag Harbor, Main Street (South)
    • Sag Harbor, Windmill Beach & Bay
    • Shelter Island, South Ferry
    • Southampton, 39A to Montauk Hwy Merge
    • Southampton, Conscience Point Marina
    • Southampton Village, Coopers Beach
    • Southampton Village, Main Street (South)
    • Southampton Village, Main Street (North)
    • Southampton Village, Main Street (Hildreths)
    • Westhampton Village, Main Street (East)
    • Westhampton Village, Rogers Beach
  • Public WiFi
    • Public WiFi Map
    • Public Wi-Fi Support
No Result
View All Result
Hamptons.com
March 13, 2014

Jump On The Jitney! 40-Years and Going Strong!

Douglas MacKaye Harringtonby Douglas MacKaye Harrington
in Entertainment
Home Entertainment

In 1978 Eddie Money sang, “I’ve got two tickets to paradise…” and if he were talking about the paradise that is our Hamptons he would undoubtedly be referring to two tickets on the Hampton Jitney, now celebrating its 40th year!

I first came to the Hamptons in the pre-Jitney year of 1969, driving out in my 1964 VW bug, top down, with my high school girlfriend to her parent’s summer house in Sag Harbor on weekdays; they came out on the weekends…if you get my drift. At the time the American Hotel was pre-visionary Ted Conklin and in ruins not having taken in guests or served a meal in its beautiful dining rooms for decades and, believe it or not, many now toney store fronts on Main Street sat vacant. Two town “rummies” held court on a park bench lovingly dubbed “Paul Newman” and “The Mayor” by my girlfriend who frequently brought them sandwiches and the only legitimate celebrity resident I recall at the time, although I do not think he considered himself one, was legendary American novelist John Steinbeck who hung out at the firehouse and died the winter before my first and very memorable visit.



In the years between my arrival in the Hamptons and the maiden voyage of the Hampton Jitney I along with about 500,000 other people spent a weekend in Bethel, NY at the Woodstock Festival, the Vietnam War raged, I joined the SDS, attended my first anti-war demonstration in D.C. with what seemed to be the same 500,000 people at Woodstock, witnessed the Stonewall Riots and watched Neil Armstrong walk on the Moon, and that was just 1969! In the next few years I broke up with my beautiful girlfriend of Sag Harbor summers, I started college in Boston, the Vietnam War still raged on and I was recruited by the Weather Underground and turned them down. The Draft Board denied my request for Conscientious Objector status despite my willingness to be an unarmed Medic and probably the first one to be shot in my unit. I made my first backpack trek around Europe to seven countries with “Europe on $5.00 a Day” clutched in my palm, they lied! During this time I started my journalism career as a stringer with the Boston Phoenix while driving a Checker Cab around Beantown, appeared in my first professional play (as in I was actually paid), had my first short story published in 1974 (for which I was not paid) and, unbeknown to me that year, a guy named James Davidson created the Hampton Jitney.

Our Hamptons.com wrapped Jitney! (Photo: Nicole B. Brewer)



Why do I mention all this personal history? I hopefully kept you reading because of our shared Hamptonian Baby-Boomer eclectic past or is it perhaps just my homage to the writing style of Dan Rattiner…hmmm? Anyway, in the late 1970s I desperately needed a visit to the paradise of my youth, the Hamptons. I had no plan on how to get there from NYC, as I was now car-less, still careless, and an underpaid copywriter drone at an ad agency living in a hovel of a studio apartment in Manhattan. A friend had a cheap summer rental on Tuckahoe Road and invited me out for a weekend. I am in Manhattan, he in Southampton, “How do I get there, LIRR?” He says, “Jump on the Jitney!” I respond, “What the hell is the Jitney?”

See, you knew I would get you back here eventually! Well, I did indeed “Jump on the Jitney!” as have hundreds of thousands of other visitors to the Hamptons over the past four decades. Yes, the Hampton Jitney is celebrating its 40th Anniversary! What started out in 1974 as a van providing shared ride service between the villages of the Hamptons for car-less or driver license-less visitors and residents, has grown into a fleet of luxury motor coaches and the #1 carrier between NYC and the Hamptons and North Fork. The Jitney also has evolved into a charter and tour service with numerous excursions throughout the year like the upcoming Longwood Gardens tour to Pennsylvania, New England Getaways, Broadway Theatre packages and Day Trips to Yankee Stadium and the casinos, to name but a few.

The Hampton Jitney is planning several events to commemorate its 40th year including giveaways, contests and specials throughout 2014. Kicking off the celebration is a “Design a Jitney” contest. Calling on the wealth of local talent, artists are encouraged to submit designs that creatively embody the Hampton Jitney logo and celebrate the 40th Anniversary. The chosen design will be converted into a full motor coach wrap for one of their fleet vehicles to exhibit throughout the year. The winner will also receive complimentary Hampton Jitney tickets for travel on the line run service between NYC and the East End.

“Our customers are the reason we have been in business for 40 years, we wanted to involve them in the celebration as a way of recognizing how important they are to us. We are looking forward to a great year,” noted Hampton Jitney President Geoffrey Lynch.

As iconic a symbol of the Hamptons as any, the Hampton Jitney classic green chariots carry Manhattanites east and Hamptonians west…or is that visa-versa? In any event, “Jump on the Jitney!” and celebrate their 40-years of superb service, comfort and convenience…”Ride the Legend!”

A Hampton Jitney motor coach wrapped in support of the Ellen Hermanson Center for Breast Cancer Research at Southampton Hospital. (Courtesy Photo)

Sign up for our weekly newsletter!

Get the top Hamptons events and latest scoop!

What's Happening in the Hamptons

Related Posts

The Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival Presents 11 Concerts Inspired by Literature
Entertainment

The Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival Presents 11 Concerts Inspired by Literature

July 8, 2025
Emma Roberts, Remi Bader, and More Attend NYLON’s Residency at The Surf Lodge
Entertainment

Emma Roberts, Remi Bader, and More Attend NYLON’s Residency at The Surf Lodge

July 4, 2025
15th Annual Family Fair to Benefit CMEE — SWEET ESCAPE
Community

15th Annual Family Fair to Benefit CMEE — SWEET ESCAPE

July 4, 2025

Search Articles

No Result
View All Result

LOCAL EVENTS

Events

09
Jul
09
Jul
-
09
Jul

The Power Pause with Neha Ruch @ The Hub

July 9 @ 10:00 AM - July 9 @ 11:30 AM
The HUB, 2183 Montauk Highway, Bridgehampton
09
Jul
09
Jul
-
09
Jul

Form & Flow: Sculpting The Intuitive Object

July 9 @ 06:00 PM - July 9 @ 09:00 PM
LTV Studios 75 Industrial Road Wainscott, NY, 11975
09
Jul
09
Jul
-
09
Jul

Live Music throughout July at The Clubhouse: Josh Brussell

July 9 @ 06:00 PM - July 9 @ 09:00 PM
The Clubhouse 174 Daniels Hole Road East Hampton, NY, 11937
09
Jul
09
Jul
-
09
Jul

Concert in the Park Series: Darren Ottati

July 9 @ 06:30 PM - July 9 @ 08:00 PM
Agawam Park: 51 Pond Ln, Southampton, NY 11968
09
Jul
09
Jul
-
09
Jul

Governor’s Comedy Takes Over The Room At The Clubhouse: Tom Arnold

July 9 @ 08:00 PM - July 9 @ 09:00 PM
174 Daniels Hole Road, East Hampton, NY, United States, New York
Load more listings
Next Post
Sherle Wagner And Fairweather Magazine Hosting “Reflections: Art And Beauty” Art Exhibition & Sale To Benefit The Watermill Center John Chamberlain Residency Grant Fund

Sherle Wagner And Fairweather Magazine Hosting "Reflections: Art And Beauty" Art Exhibition & Sale To Benefit The Watermill Center John Chamberlain Residency Grant Fund

    Facebook Twitter Instagram Youtube
    Hamptons.com

    Saunders Broadcasting Corp.

    Phone: 631-613-8440
    Email: [email protected]
    Facebook: Facebook.com/HamptonsOnline
    Twitter: @Hamptons
    Instagram: @HamptonsOnline

    About Us | Contact Us

    Hamptons.com

    • Lifestyle
    • Events
    • Real Estate
    • Live Cameras
    • Public WiFi

    Subscribe

    Sign up for our weekly newsletter!

    Get the top Hamptons events and latest scoop!

    © 2025 Hamptons.com | All rights reserved
    Saunders Broadcasting Corp.
    Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | About Us | Contact Us

    No Result
    View All Result
    • Spotlight Magazine
    • Lifestyle
      • Featured
      • Entertainment
      • Arts
      • Community
      • Dining
      • Recreation
      • Trending
    • Events
      • Events Calendar
      • Post an Event
      • Gallery
    • Real Estate
      • Real Estate Features
      • Search Real Estate
        • Open Houses
        • Search Sales
        • Search Rentals
      • Title Insurance
      • Happening In The Hamptons Podcast
    • Live Cameras
      • All Live Cameras
      • Live Weather Cams
      • Amagansett, Atlantic Avenue Beach
      • Bridgehampton, West Scott Cameron Beach
      • East Hampton Village, Main Beach
      • East Hampton Village, Main Street
      • East Hampton Village, Newtown Lane
      • Hampton Bays, Ponquogue Beach
      • Hampton Bays, Ponquogue Bridge
      • Hampton Bays, Shinnecock Fishing Dock
      • Hampton Bays, Tiana Beach
      • Long Island Aquarium | Coral Reef
      • Long Island Aquarium | Penguins
      • Long Island Aquarium | Shark Tank
      • Montauk, Downtown Circle
      • Montauk, Lars Simenson Skatepark
      • Montauk, Gin Beach & Inlet
      • Montauk, Sunset Beach & Inlet
      • Sagaponack, Sagg Main Beach
      • Sag Harbor, Foster Memorial Beach
      • Sag Harbor, Long Wharf Marina
      • Sag Harbor, Main Street (South)
      • Sag Harbor, Windmill Beach & Bay
      • Shelter Island, South Ferry
      • Southampton, 39A to Montauk Hwy Merge
      • Southampton, Conscience Point Marina
      • Southampton Village, Coopers Beach
      • Southampton Village, Main Street (South)
      • Southampton Village, Main Street (North)
      • Southampton Village, Main Street (Hildreths)
      • Westhampton Village, Main Street (East)
      • Westhampton Village, Rogers Beach
    • Public WiFi
      • Public WiFi Map
      • Public Wi-Fi Support

    © 2025 Hamptons.com | All rights reserved
    Saunders Broadcasting Corp.
    Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | About Us | Contact Us