With the L train shutdown looming closer, a luxury app based car service called The New L wants to shuttle passengers to Manhattan in a 12 seat van for $155 a month.
The service will also include Wi-Fi, charging ports and food according to a report in NY1.
Senate hopeful and community organizer Julia Salazar, who is running on a platform to better access of public services for low income Brooklyn residents, wasn’t a fan of the idea.
We need bold solutions to deal with the L train shutdown, but an app-based luxury van service that caters to wealthy Brooklynites isn't one of them.
Working-class residents need transit alternatives that work for all of us, not just an elite few. https://t.co/BbX8tba1M4
— Julia Salazar (@JuliaCarmel__) August 3, 2018
There are few people in Bushwick that could potentially access the new service. A lack of accessible train stations in and around Bushwick and a high poverty rate are why many in the area do not have alternatives to the L train.
Transportation advocates are worried about the congestion that the luxury service will add to once the L is down.
“When it comes to moving commuters, private shuttles are no match for public buses,” said Paul Steely White, the executive director of advocacy group Transportation Alternatives, according to NY1. “This is the worst-case scenario: us seeing more and more of these private shuttles flooding streets, preventing buses from moving.”
For more information on the L Train Shutdown, read some of Bushwick Daily’s coverage here.
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Cover photo courtesy of Evan Haddad