Heavy morning traffic on I-95 southbound in Fairfield, Conn. on Wednesday, October 2, 2013.
STAMFORD -- A Stamford-based "aerial transportation" firm is hoping it will be able to get well-heeled commuters to opt for a quick helicopter ride during Metro-North railroad service problems.
Ray Leavitt, CEO of Evo-Lux Transportation, said his company hopes to change Stamford's ordinances to accommodate his software-driven startup and change the current prohibition on helicopter landings in the city except for emergency medical trips and visits by presidents, governors and international heads of state. His attempts to expedite approval of temporary helipad on Monday to capitalize on Metro-North's ongoing service disruption were rejected by local public safety officials because of the prohibition.
"Since there is an ordinance, we couldn't get it lifted even temporarily," Leavitt said. "We really wanted to show how nimbly we could get a service running to relieve a major bottleneck and pain point."
This week, EvoLux Transportation began using social media and supportive businesses to promote a limited-time offer on one-way and round-trip helicopter flights between Connecticut and New York City's heliports for a minimum of $300 a seat each way.
The company was able to establish heliports in Bridgeport, Fairfield, White Plains, N.Y., and at Westchester County Airport, but has not yet been able to get clients signed up for the flights during the rail service disruption.
Leavitt said that while the company is currently developing a proprietary software engine to quickly link helicopter operators to eager customers, he was hoping to create a partnership with a local corporate complex such as NBC Sports or Chelsea Piers to partner on the construction of a Stamford heliport.
"People think that this service is going to be just for the elite, but because we're opening this up a marketplace and hopefully growing it we hope to be able to open up the price point all the way down to the upper middle class," Leavitt said.
Public Safety Director Ted Jankowski said the use of public property for helicopter landings in the city of Stamford are extremely rare, citing the examples of Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, both of whom have landed aboard Marine One in Kosciuszko Park.
Since 2004, there have been several medical emergencies requiring airlifting critical patients via helicopter from Stamford Hospital to specialty or other advanced medical care facilities, he said.
Train service came to a halt on the New Haven line on Sept. 25 after a Consolidated Edison feeder cable near Mt. Vernon, N.Y., failed just after 5 a.m., stopping train service from Stamford to Grand Central.
On Monday, the railroad was able to restore partial service of electric trains through the affected corridor of Rye, N.Y., through Pelham, N.Y., and has thus far been able to incrementally restore 65 percent of normal service.
Con Edison officials initially said it could take weeks to restore the power to the trains, although the electric feeder cable problem that disrupted the heavily used rail line is expected to be fixed by Oct. 7. After testing, service is expected to resume Oct. 7 or 8.