Qwik Ride Rolls In Northport Village

Mitch Hermann is at the wheel of one of Qwik Ride’s distinctive 5-passenger golf carts during a press conference held to roll out the service in Northport Village.

By Connor Beach
cbeach@longislandergroup.com

Northport Village is the newest bustling downtown in Suffolk County to introduce a creative way to ease congestion and free up parking.

The eye-catching electric carts operated by free app-based shuttle service Qwik Ride will soon be zipping visitors and residents alike around the village. Qwik Ride’s co-owners Dan Cantelmo and John Yancigay joined village officials and members of the community on Main Street yesterday afternoon to announce the partnership.

Qwik Ride successfully introduced their six-person electric shuttles in Huntington village in the beginning of August after offering similar service in congested Patchogue village.

In Huntington, Qwik Ride helps free up parking in the heart of town by getting employees’ of village businesses to park their cars in outlier locations like the Town Hall parking lot or the municipal lot adjacent to Rite Aid at the western end of the village.

In Northport, where houses line residential streets like Woodbine Avenue in close proximity to downtown, Cantelmo said the strategy is a little different.

“Northport approached us,” Cantelmo said.

After assessing how Qwik Ride could help alleviate the village’s parking woes, Cantelmo noticed that many residents drove from their homes to nearby Main Street. That’s where Qwik Ride comes in, he said.

“We’ll be able to pick people up from their houses or the village parking lots and take them into the heart of town,” Cantelmo said.

Qwik Ride will also provide convenient transport to and from Northport’s waterfront.

Cantelmo said people could use Qwik Ride to get from the village to popular waterfront areas like Whale’s Tale restaurant.

To hail a Qwik Ride shuttle download the smartphone app or visit Qwikrides.com for more information.