pkim87

It's strange to say the least why your Red Bank to SEC ticket won't let you past the fare gates. In my opinion, SEC should be its own fare zone for the Newark Division lines (if you are not transferring), otherwise, you unnecessarily pay the NYP fare to exit the upper level. In any case, I believe it's a way to ensure riders from NYP pay their fare in case your ticket isn't checked between NYP and SEC, and the conductors do not check tickets for those going from SEC to NYP. I agree the gates do not serve much purpose besides this. But after all, everyone comes from or goes to NYP according to NJT which is what they build around and leave intrastate or suburban commuters on the back burner (I am the latter most times).

The Exxon on Rt. 46 at Ridgefield Park closed down some time ago (1 or 2 months) with fences blocking the property. I wonder if this is in preparation for the Ridgefield Park garage.

The real gaps which need to be fixed (all RE: weekday schedules): 1. No Hoboken bound Pascack Valley Line trains between 4pm and 9pm. To this end, the Oradell siding issue (or lack thereof) should be revisited as initially it gave a false sense that more freight trains would run through which was clearly not the case and the proposed siding runs next to a golf course away from residential area so it's not a NIMBY issue, and new administration. 2. Need better scheduling of Hoboken bound trains on Bergen County Line, (5:54 and 7:06pm from Plauderville are odd departure times and do not work well with Secaucus connections, and need minimum hourly service). 3. The last direct train to NY on Raritan Valley Line at 10pm should be restored. All other direct NY trains operate today prior to the temporary cuts.

What they should do is offer a discount for those who use a fare card (which can be integrated with the app) to encourage people to buy less paper tickets (and/or cash). This is implemented in BART and other systems. Otherwise there is no incentive. PATH did this of sorts when they rolled out their Smart Card albeit with a $5 fee for the card itself (trips on the card never expire so you could stock up on rides and if you registered your card, you could recover trips from a lost or stolen card once its reported).

I am thinking of taking the bus to Manahawkin (right near where Rt 72 meets Rt 9) from Port Authority on a Saturday in August. There is a 12:30 pm bus (319) which gets to Toms River at 2:05pm, with a transfer to the 2:13pm bus (559). Should I trust this connection from the NJT website, (i.e. are there delays on the Parkway due to beachgoers) or should I leave myself more room to catch the 559?

They were moving buses out of Oradell en masse since at least around 2 pm. Most if not all were '19-'21's. Not sure if that was on purpose or it just happened to be the closest buses to the exit. The water still covered their wheels more than halfway.

This means Wayne is like the big brother who gets the best toys, and Market Street and the others are the neglected siblings who get all the worn out hand-me-downs.

What's the reasoning for Wayne getting more of the new buses as opposed to Oradell/Market St/Fairview?

How long until we see the last of the 01-02's retired?

The Community Coach garage is in Paramus, right on 17 North. It's about 8 miles south of the Westwood garage, not far. I am guessing this means at minimum there will be no expansion of current (very low) service levels on the Rockland routes.

Last I heard, other garages "in the area" with older MCI's are helping out Oradell. They have not been all new deliveries, judging from the date of the post. Actually, it was probably a good thing they did not get more new buses because of the risk of flooding.

I wonder how the new future garage will fare in storms like these, being that it will be situated next to Overpeck Creek. I guess they could create some sort of artificial hill and build on top of it. Looking forward to the next phase of the process.

It's good to see Oradell now has about 30 of the new MCI's according to the above. Someone recently said they had a "measly" ten, but things can change quickly.

Yesterday was a field day for the wrecker. Spotted 3 MCI buses (one at a time of course) being towed on the same street in Bergen County heading south, and today I think I even spotted a NABI being towed though I did not have a full view as it was passing by. On another note, I have noticed that there is a regular caravan of 2 to 4 buses being driven in the wee hours of the morning from Oradell garage to the south almost daily, but they are a mix of the '01-02's as well as the new buses. Any idea what that could be for? Bus swapping? I have seen more than a handful now of the 2021's on the 165 and other lines. That has been a welcome sight and a long time waiting.

I have ridden the Proterra bus at Newark Airport. In terms of ride quality, you no longer hear the loud hum of the diesel engine. Acceleration is seamless. However, the smoothness of the ride is dependent on the driver, and you hear the same bumps on the road given that "city/suburban" buses are not known for their suspension.