At a time when traveling by any means of mass transit is fraught with anxiety, Hampton Jitney—which transports passengers back and forth between New York and the East End of Long Island—has enacted a host of new policies to ensure their buses meet the state's health and safety guidelines, from frequent cleanings to mandatory masks to reduced capacity rides. But people who have taken the buses are starting to speak out that despite their good intentions, the company's buses are regularly overcrowded and not abiding by social distancing guidelines.

According to the Hampton Jitney's updated COVID rules, all passengers & employees are required to wear face coverings; capacity on trips has been reduced (it doesn't specify by how much, but different passengers have been told 40% and 60% capacity); enhanced cleaning is being performed between every trip; and sanitizing wipes and hand sanitizer is available on board. You can see more in their safety video below.

But much of that wasn't the case for one woman who took the bus on August 20th from Bridgehampton to Manhattan. "When a crowd of 20+ people got on at the stop after Bridgehampton, the woman in charge made an announcement in the speaker that the bus would be filled to capacity and that anyone taking up two seats would need to remove any belongings luggage," the woman, who asked to remain anonymous, told Gothamist.

She claims that the person in charge of the bus "lied and said they just increased the capacity to 40%. When I further pointed out that the bus was filled with no empty seats, the person said yes, I am aware that on this trip we are at full capacity." People were forced to sit in seats that had "social distancing" banners specifying no one was supposed to be sitting there, which you can see in the photo below.

In addition, the woman said there were no sanitizers or wipes on the bus, and she plans to report the company to the governor's office.

A photo of one of the "socially distanced" empty seats, and a woman sitting in that seat

Gothamist

There have been several people complaining about the service being overcrowded on social media as well.

One person tweeted to Hampton Jitney, "you guys really shouldn't be sitting people next to each other - it's a bit risky and unacceptable.. i love you guys- but what you are doing is Wrong.. rethink your policy of sitting random people next to each other.. you lost a customer (for now)..."

We've reached out to Hampton Jitney for comment and will update when we hear back.