Unfortunate L Train dwellers are preparing for the L-pocalyse this weekend, when the little gray line that couldcouldn't vanishes from its usual post for the next five weekends. Local businesses that rely on the influx of outside visitors are deeply concerned about losses in revenue, including the vendors at Smorgasburg who get a substantial amount of business from L train riders coming from Manhattan and elsewhere. To combat the impending shutdown, a group of enterprising Smorg vendors are testing the waters of a new shuttle bus system that'll transport groups of would-be Smorgasburgers to and from the market.
The rookie crew at Big Mozz, who are doing the freshly made mozzarella bombs this year, have taken it upon themselves to launch the service through startup company Skedaddle. "We want to make it as easy as possible for everyone to get there, so essentially we'll have a shuttle bus that'll leave from Union Square starting at 11 a.m. and it's going to run approximately every 90 minutes," founder Matt Gallira told us by phone today. "People can swipe and buy a ticket with Square card readers when they get on. It'll take you to Smorgasburg and then 45 minutes later it'll leave Williamsburg to get back to Union Square." Though started by a Smorgasburg vendor, the shuttle service isn't officially sanctioned by the market.
"We want to make it really accessible for people and make it like a spur-of-the-moment type of thing," he explained. That said, to gauge interest—and make sure they can meet demand—Big Mozz is asking interested parties to Like this post on Facebook so they know how many buses to prepare for their initial run. The team is thinking that tickets will be between $7 and $8 one-way and likely include another type of perk, like food from Big Mozz or other vendors at the market. One initial thought was to include beer as part of the ticket, but liability concerns got in the way.
Things are still coming together logistically, but Gallira hopes to launch the shuttle service starting next Saturday, April 24th, meaning you're on our own for this Saturday's Smorg.
