BrentwoodGO transit service, in danger of losing funding, could go out of business next week

A low-cost transit service in Brentwood used by 3,000 passengers each month is slated to lose state funding on Monday and shut down entirely by the end of next week, unless the service makes its way into the state’s budget or finds another last-minute funding source.

The service is called BrentwoodGO. Passengers use an app to call one of the 10 electric vehicles in its fleet, which will then pick them up and drop them off anywhere in the hamlet for no more than $2.50. It operates from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays.

About 48,700 passengers have used BrentwoodGO since fall 2024, according to Circuit Transit Inc., the company that launched the shuttles using a $7 million New York State prize. The funding was part of a state-led effort to subsidize electric transit systems. To date, Circuit has used about $4 million to operate BrentwoodGO and a similar service in the Rockaways.

But the subsidies are expected to halt on Monday — a state deadline for the company to spend up to the full $7 million — according to Circuit co-founder Alexander Esposito, who said the systems will survive for “probably just a few days” before ceasing operations due to a lack of operating funds.

The impending collapse has sparked concern among local leaders that residents in need will be hit especially hard, including students and the elderly.

“The loss of BrentwoodGO would significantly affect ... students,” said Donna Ciampa, the interim executive dean of Suffolk County Community College's Brentwood campus. “Without it, many students would face additional barriers that could impact attendance and academic progress.”

Islip Town Councilman Jorge Guadrón, whose district includes Brentwood, said some elderly residents who have come to rely on the service contacted him about the looming closure.

“Many of these residents do not own vehicles or cannot afford high transportation costs. … Many members in the community have two to three jobs just to make ends meet at the end of the month,” he said. “It is imperative that they continue with this funding — and hopefully that will be the case.”

Contract confusion

Circuit was one of four companies that won $7 million “grand prizes” in the state’s Electric Mobility Challenge in 2022. It was administered by New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, or NYSERDA, which funded the prizes with money generated by utility ratepayers statewide.

Circuit used its NYSERDA funding to install electric-vehicle charging stations, buy 21 shuttles — 11 of which operate in the Rockaways — and hire roughly 30 drivers. 
The $3 million in funds that remains unspent “would have gotten us through the end of this year, if not longer,” Esposito said.

In a statement to Newsday, NYSERDA wrote that the subsidies were scheduled to end on March 30, regardless of whether Circuit spent the entire $7 million.

“The project was launched as a ratepayer-subsidized demonstration effort, not as a perpetual funding commitment, with the expectation that projects would work toward a sustainable long-term operating model beyond the initial award period,” the NYSERDA statement said.

Esposito said the company “assumed” the subsidies would continue running until the full $7 million was depleted because of the program’s success.

“Why wouldn’t that not extend if the service was successful and the funding wasn’t used?” Esposito said.

Searching for solutions

Guadrón said he has been emailing officials ranging from Gov. Kathy Hochul to Assemb. Phil Ramos about continuing funding for BrentwoodGO.

“I haven’t heard back from them yet," he said.

Esposito said State Sen. Monica Martinez (D-Brentwood) has also been supportive of continued funding, and that his company is also looking at “mid- to long-term” solutions, like brokering a deal with Suffolk County or Islip.

He also mentioned partnering with SCCC or local businesses as an “interim solution” that could involve funding a more limited version of the shuttle service.

“There’s a chance we’ll be able to stand something that's maybe a bit smaller and funded by an employer or funded by the school. But we don’t have a definite answer on that,” Esposito said.