Passenger service is set to begin next month on the highly anticipated Hudson-Bergen Light Rail system. Ultimately, the 21.5-mile system will extend from Bayonne to Ridgewood, but now it only runs from Bayonne to Exchange Place in Jersey City. Last week, NJ Transit announced rates for passengers who will be traveling on the present route. Rates include $53 for a monthly pass, $13 for a 10-trip ticket and $1.50 for one-way rides. Special rates will also be made available to senior citizens and students. Seniors 65 and older, as well as people with disabilities, will only be required to pay half price. Seniors 62 to 64 years old will pay full fare during peak hours but can pay half price during off-peak hours. Tickets for students, which are slated to cost $11.25 for a book of 10 tickets, can be purchased through the students’ school, university or college if the institution is participating in the student fare program. Parking prices were also announced last week. Parking will cost $2 a day or $40 a month. To simplify the process, NJ Transit said that they will offer combination parking and Light Rail tickets costing $93 for the month, while daily rates to park and ride will be $5. “Today’s announcement is the latest step in our effort to gear up for passenger service,” said NJ Transit Director Jeffrey Warsh. “In addition to its convenience and reliability, the fare unveiled today for Hudson-Bergen Light Rail will make it an affordable and attractive travel option in one of the busiest transportation corridors in the world.” NJ Transit is encouraging passengers to purchase monthly passes. With the monthly pass, one-way fares will be discounted approximately 30 percent based on 25 trips a month and commuters will be eligible to ride local NJ Transit buses free of charge upon presenting their monthly pass to the bus driver, according to NJ Transit. “Hudson-Bergen Light Rail is one of the highest priorities of Gov. Whitman’s transportation vision for the 21st Century,” said New Jersey Transportation Director and NJ Transit Chairman James Weinstein. “Despite the fact that the system has not [yet] carried a single revenue passenger, Hudson-Bergen Light Rail construction has already contributed to an economic boom and created thousands of new jobs along the Hudson River waterfront.” Tickets can be purchased at any of the Light Rail’s 12 stations between 34th Street in Bayonne and Exchange Place and West Side Avenue in Jersey City. Ticket vending machines will be on each platform and customers can buy them before they board the train. One-way and ten-trip tickets must be dated and time-stamped before riding the Light Rail. NJ Transit said that tickets are valid up to 90 minutes after they are purchased, allowing riders to enjoy local restaurants and shopping districts before they go on the train. Ticket vending will also be available at one of the four Light Rail park-and-ride areas. Using the honor system, the tickets will not be collected on board, according to a recent press release. Inspectors will randomly board the trains and ask to see if passengers are carrying valid tickets. At first, warnings will be issued to ticket-less passengers. According to NJ Transit, those found without tickets can be issued a summons with a maximum fine of $100. Repeat offenders may be subject to criminal charges. The four park-and-ride lots are located at Liberty State Park, off exit 14B of the New Jersey Turnpike (1,296 spaces); West Side Avenue at the corner of Claremount Avenue in Jersey City (879 spaces); 45th Street Station off Avenue E in Bayonne (234 spaces); and 34th Street Station in Bayonne, which will offer 530 spaces upon completion in Fall 2000. As part of the Light Rail’s first phase, 12 stations will service 7.5 miles of track that extends north from Bayonne and snakes its way through Jersey City. Points hit by the Light Rail in the first phase include Liberty State Park, Jersey Avenue, Essex Street, Martin Luther King Drive and Garfield Avenue in Jersey City. The second phase of the rail system will be to expand from Exchange Place, though Newport and into Hoboken. The phase is set to begin service sometime in early 2002. A third phase will eventually link Hoboken Terminal and North Bergen, with a final stage of construction scheduled to last until 2010 that will lay Light Rail tracks over a 20 mile span between Bayonne and Ridgefield. The Light Rail is expected to transport 27,000 commuters per day between Bayonne and Hoboken. When the system is fully complete in 10 years, over 100,000 daily passengers will be served. Opening day for the Light Rail will be announced shortly, according to NJ Transit.
Train in the distance: Passengers may be able to use Light Rail in next month
