A popular shuttle service helping New Yorkers escape to the Jersey Shore is now expanding into New Jersey.
Park Avenue Worldwide, which has operated weekend shuttle routes from Manhattan, Brooklyn and Philadelphia for years, is adding a new pickup location in Jersey City starting Memorial Day weekend.
The new stop at the ACME on 18th Street will give residents in Jersey City and Hoboken a direct route to shore destinations including Avalon, Ocean City and Ventnor through Labor Day weekend.
Right outside the Lincoln Tunnel in Midtown Manhattan, travelers were already loading bags and boarding buses for another summer weekend down the shore.
“Two years now I’ve been taking it,” said Conner Wynn, of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. “It’s just the most convenient route. Especially in the summer to avoid Parkway traffic and all that craziness.”
The company says the service was created a decade ago after hearing repeated complaints from New Yorkers about the difficulty of getting to the shore without multiple transfers or long traffic delays.
“It started 10 years ago when all of our friends were moving to New York and they told us we needed to start this because there were no better options,” said Chelsea Lazar, senior vice president of Park Avenue Worldwide.
Depending on traffic, the ride to the shore can take anywhere from two to three hours.
Passengers say the shuttle offers a more relaxed alternative to crowded buses and trains.
“This is so much nicer and easier,” said John Morrison of Washington Heights. “You can work, it’s not ever as crowded.”
Company officials say the expansion into Jersey City was driven by growing demand from New Jersey residents looking for a more direct and comfortable commute to the beach.
“Our biggest complaint was there was no luxury option,” said Briana Candeub, senior vice president of Park Avenue Worldwide. “People had to take numerous different ways of transportation to get to one place. We’re your one-stop shop.”
The weekend shuttle service will run from Memorial Day through Labor Day.