Getting Around Patchogue For ‘Car Free LI Day’

Friday is the first Car Free Long Island Day, but how do you get around Patchogue without a car?

There are a number of Suffolk County buses that travel through the Patchogue area, and can take residents as far as Port Jefferson, Smith Haven Mall, Walt Whitman Mall and other locations should one choose to transfer.

These buses, with the schedules linked, are:

• S54 Patchogue Railroad to Walt Whitman Mall (Stops in Blue Point, Bayport, Sayville, Bohemia).

• S61 Patchogue Railroad to Port Jefferson (Stops In North Patchogue, Medford and Coram).

• S63 Patchogue Railroad to Smith Haven Mall (Stops at Waverly Ave. and Roe Blvd., Holtsville, Internal Revenue Center, Centereach).

• S66 Patchogue to Riverhead (Stops in East Patchogue, North Bellport).

• S68 Patchogue to Center Moriches (Stops In Hagerman, North Bellport, Yaphank).

• 7A Patchogue Railroad to Ronkonkoma Railroad (Stops in North Patchogue and Gateway Shopping Center).

• 7B Patchogue Railroad to Medford, Bellport (Stops in the Pines, Eagle Estates, Sunshine Square Shopping Center, Medford Plaza)

The buses tend to start as early as around 6:30 a.m. and run through around 7:30 p.m. Full fares are $2, with an extra 25 cents to transfer. Bike racks are also available on the buses. Several of the buses link to Long Island Rail Road stations, which can be used to move between eastward and westward destinations.

In this editor’s personal experience, the 7B bus has been suitable for getting from Medford to Patchogue Village when a car is not available during the day. Unfortunately, as the buses do not typically run later in the evening, they are not available for rides home going northbound from a late night at Patchogue bars. The Patchogue Long Island Rail Road station near the South Ocean Avenue and Division Street intersection does run late into the night for those living east and west of Patchogue. Anyone who does know of late-night public transportation options out of Patchogue, definitely please fill them into the comments section below.

Are you going car-free in the Patchogue area using any of these buses or any other methods? What are your favorite routes? Or what issues keep you from using the bus system? Talk about it in the comments below.