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.

Was there any provision in the latest stimulus funding for charter bus companies (and those who run commuter lines)? The DeCamp website has not budged and no word from Rockland Coaches either (though they now run 2 buses to/from PABT during rush hour on each line as of a few months ago). With the new commuting patterns which are inevitable but may take a while to be seen, I wonder if some routes will still be viable.

Will any NJT PABT bus route pick up passengers from the GWB Terminal if there were delays severe enough at PABT? If not, I doubt the subway fare will be "reimbursed" since this is not true cross-honoring but something a commuter did on his/her own. The provision at 175th Street makes sense since the bus would be diverted to GWB by no fault of the passengers and the inconvenience that results from it.

That's understood. But this gives the impression that there may still be '01-'03's around, which will not retire until up to 10 years later, which is not imaginable given their condition.

I wonder why this item is listed under the 10-year plan and not sooner: "replace outdated 40-foot cruiser buses with new 45-foot buses." Some of these buses do not sound like they can make it past next year. Now, driving around a given day, most (not some) buses have the route taped to their windshields. Oradell regularly tows buses to a bigger garage for repairs, then has to shuttle them back in the middle of the night to get it in place for the AM. It is a waste of time and resources, and creates unnecessary liability and insurance using the wrecker in this manner. Hopefully the new garage will finish "ahead of schedule" so more holes can be patched in their budget.

As someone who also utilizes the PABT, it needs to be torn down and rebuilt from the ground up. The design and construction are sorely outdated and it is the ugliest building in NYC. Upon arriving, if you are lucky to be dropped off near an escalator, they are single-width and are always in disrepair. You have to expect to be going down stairs. There is only "one" long curb that buses use to discharge passengers in the upper level (unless the driver is nice or in a time crunch, he will go to his gate and discharge passengers there instead if it's too backed up). The 200-level gates are virtually non-ADA compliant (there is a very limited number of escalators). Once you get to the gate level, the "waiting area" and "Doors" are terribly designed. Might as well just make them unique gate numbers to avoid confusion. The bus has to make a double stop if someone has luggage since the bus lanes are so tight, flanked by waiting rooms on both sides. The HVAC here is in disrepair, hence the installation of ductless mini-splits with condensate drain lines haphazardly strung together and visible from adjacent waiting areas (and they are not always on or working). If your bus is scheduled to depart either at 10pm or just a slither before, it is always a gamble to go up the 200-gates before they close down, and you end up going up and back down the gates multiple times because someone tells you the bus should be coming at a 200 gate, but then the bus does not show. It will arrive at the 300-gate instead. The 300-level gates are just plain madness (though pre-pandemic) with mazes of people all around the floor trying to locate their gates then backtracking the line of people so they get on the correct line (and lack of windows does not help the ambiance nor if you need to "peek" to see what bus is outside since on occasion the bus will pull into the adjacent gate without any notice). You have to go through a line of folks waiting at a gate to go to the restroom during rush hour. These are just some of the things that give PABT a bad rap. We'll see how the air rights will be sold. With the dynamics of work changing due to the pandemic, there may not be the same demand for office or commercial space as there was before. At least they got this into the 10-year plan. It makes much more sense than the preposterous "EWR" PATH terminal in the middle of no man's land on the NEC, though I digress.

Any updates from the Dec 9 board meeting?

I second that observation about tourism taking a beating. Usually on Saturday afternoons, SEC would be bustling with passengers with nearly every train bound for NYP packed like sardines. Now, there are literally 2 people on the platform and SEC is a ghost town. It is surreal.

Looks like some officials from Ridgefield Park won't go down without a fight: This is from the Sierra Club's website, written in their words: https://www.sierraclub.org/new-jersey/blog/2020/10/nj-transit-ridgefield-park-bus-depot-another-bad-plan-wrong-place Personally, this is not a good location for commercial development as it is not very accessible (in an already busy location) and is in the middle of an industrial setting. Bergen County does not need any more malls, and residential apartments would not go well right at the confluence of two very big highways. Buses can take cars off the road with a Park and Ride that is planned as well. Eminent domain will likely prevail, but hopefully there isn't too much delay.

Thanks. Anyone know if this will finish the delivery to Westwood or are there more to be delivered next year?

He can, but historically it's been rarely done. But with the RNC this week, this being a normal recess, and the fact that they did not adjourn "sine die," (some form of a second stimulus will be on the agenda when they reconvene), I don't think anything will happen beforehand.