Alternative Transportation for P’Town

By Merle Exit

“No: candy, popcorn, fudge, eggs benedict, egg foo yong, artichoke hearts, artichoke livers,… one potato, two potato, three potato four,… pommes anna, ban anna,… steamed mussels, sore mussels and/or leg of lamb.” Needless to say, you can expect humor at Norma Glamp’s at 212 Commercial Street. Owner Steve Katz, has maintained this unique shop noted for its hilarious greeting cards which will set the mood of a town that everyone, including straight folks, seem the need to escape to.

With gas prices as high as an elephant's eye, you may want to seek alternative transportation to and around Provincetown. You know what it's like dealing with traffic on the Cape, and once you get there, it's not exactly easy to park.  So what are your choices?

Coming from New York, there's no direct way. A combination of time and money sent me on a search requiring several modes, via Boston and a ferry.

There are dozens of cheap bus services (starting around $10 each way) from  Chinatown (in NY) to Chinatown (in Boston). There's also another bus that (for $15) will take you from Broadway and 32nd, to the Back Bay area. Greyhound- which leaves from the Port Authority- has also decided to be competitive, and (as of this writing) offered a trip for $35. It might have gone up by now.

A Boston company called Limoliner got on the bandwagon with what appears as a chartered bus, but is in fact a conversion offering first class seating and the service of an airplane. With service (including free wi-fi), you pay the price however: It was $79 each way, from New York's Hilton Hotel to the Hilton in Boston, when I went.

With any of the above options, you're looking at a minimum of 4 hours just to Boston, depending upon traffic.  The only benefit is not having to go through an airport security check. Take into consideration however, where you reside in New York...

Jet Blue www.jetblue.com  offered shuttles from NY to Boston for as low as $50, one way. However, that was when they started their Boston destination.  Considering that I live in Queens, I opted for this option, with an added cab fare of $20. Airline travel time was a little more than an hour.

Next, I had to get to the ferry and here there are several options. The most expensive is of course by taxi, although this is not the most direct. For $1.25 (if they haven’t raised the fare) you can schlep yourself (and your bags) aboard the "T" or opt for a more direct way via water taxi.

Logan airport has a free bus service that will take you to the port where, for $10 (hopefully it still is) you can either call a water taxi, or hop aboard Harbor Express (617-222-6999), a ferry that will take you to Boston's wharf. The 10-minute Harbor Express turned out to be a more comfortable ride, but if your plane doesn't arrive on time, it works best to call a water taxi.

Cape Air can add to the expense and depending upon the time, may not connect to Ptown as quickly as you'd like it to, so next came the ferry.  There are actually two "fast ferry" services to Ptown, which gets you there in 90 minutes. Boston Harbor Cruises (617-227-4321) was my choice, at that time, $70 round-trip.

Taxi services are regulated in Ptown; odd thing about it, though, is that if you hop in a taxi at the ferry landing it costs $1 more than if you walk down the pier and take the same car. Other than the pier, a taxi runs $4 to anywhere in Ptown. The taxis are always regulated to a set charge.

Getting around town is a lot easier, as there's a shuttle bus available for $1 per ride, with a free transfer if you're going to the West end. There's one bus that goes from Truro to MacMillan Wharf, and another from the wharf to the beach. They recently introduced the Flex bus, and for the same dollar, you can transfer to a bus that will take you as far down the cape as Harwich.

Needless to say, if you're not hauling luggage, the least expensive mode of town transportation is your feet. And considering the array of restaurants, it may be the only form of exercise that you'll thank yourself for.