Marlene Hubert, 32, leaves her home at 7 a.m. every morning to go to her advertising job in Manhattan. She grabs a cup of java at the local coffee shop, then heads to the bus stop at the corner on 14th and Washington. And she waits. And waits. And waits.
“The problem really isn’t that buses don’t come regularly, because they do come about every five minutes,” said Hubert Tuesday morning in a cold and blistering wind. “As I see it, the problem is that all the buses are full.”
As predicted, one bus drove by in less than five minutes, but it was full of commuters it had already picked up along Washington Street. Only a handful of the approximately 20 people at Hubert’s stop were able to board.
Eight minutes later, another bus came. Hubert threw out her now-empty coffee cup and shouldered her way into line. Forty-five minutes after she had left her home two blocks away, Hubert was finally on her way to work in a crowed bus.
‘We recognize the bus situation’
With new development and a new breed of commuters in Hoboken, lines on the corners to board the morning bus have become increasingly deep. “I have noticed over the course of the last two years that several thousand apartments and sales of houses have not resulted in any appreciable increase in the commuter services available to meet the growing demand,” complained commuter Daniel Serata in a letter recently. “Having 30 to 40 commuters waiting at each stop in the morning is not only inconvenient; it is dangerous.”
According NJ Transit Corporate Communications Director Anna Farneski, the company offers six different routes that pass through Hoboken, with a total of 515 trips daily through the city.
The other major bus carrier that serves Hoboken is Academy Motor Coach Transportation, which operates three lines. One of those lines, which used to be known as the “Red Apple,” runs between the Hoboken PATH station and the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan. Starting April 1, the fare for this route will be increased from $1.25 to $1.50.
“We greatly recognize the bus situation in Hoboken,” said Academy spokesman Robert Keller last week. “And as soon as we are able to get more buses on the street, we will do that. But right now we are having the same problem that every major bus carrier is having, and that’s a lack of manpower.”
“As soon as we are able to hire the drivers we need, we will have more buses,” Keller said. “We realize how it can get during rush hour in Hoboken. It is definitely in the forefront of our mind.”
Another headache
Mike Wilson, 46, he has a different type of commuting headache. Wilson, who drives into New York through the Lincoln Tunnel five days a week, worries about the extra money it is going to cost him every day. “The only thing that is good about [the fare hike] is that it forced me to a get an EZ Pass,” said Wilson. “But that’s it. I work a nine to five job so I have to leave during rush hour. That means I’m paying a dollar more every morning. That is going to add up.”
Under the new pricing plan, the cash toll at the Lincoln and Holland Tunnel rose from $4 to $6 last week. But in an attempt to improve traffic into and out of the Manhattan during peak hours, the Port Authority has instituted “congestion pricing.” This means that drivers who use EZ pass in their car will pay $5 during peak periods and $4 off-peak.
Ken Philmus, the Port Authority’s director of tunnels, bridges, and terminals, said, “Our primary goal is to improve congestion in the region. Another goal is to convince all of our customers that the EZ Pass will allow them to save both time and money.”
While many feel that the new price plan is innovative, no one interviewed was in favor of the new fare hikes. “Traffic is bad, but raising prices isn’t going to help it move along any faster,” said Hoboken resident and commuter Beth Johnson. “Sure, more people are going to get the EZ Pass, but the people that are in rush hour traffic are there because they need to get to work. I’m sure if they could go at different times, they would, but most bosses I know wouldn’t go for that. They sit in long lines because they have to, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.”
Simultaneously, a new fare structure has begun on the PATH trains, with discounts for those that buy multi-trip tickets aimed at encouraging mass transit use. This is the first fare increase since 1987.
The $1.50 one-way fare is a 50 percent increase from the previous rate of a dollar. Customers who buy an 11-trip QuickCard will pay $1.36 per trip; and those who buy 20- or 40-trip cards will pay $1.20 per trip.
Brent Rogers, 35, who hops on the PATH to go to his 33rd Street office, said he is worried about the added inconvenience of the new $.50 increase in PATH fare.
“It was easy before,” said Rogers. “You put your dollar into the machine, and you’re done. Now I have to fumble for change or buy QuickCards, which I am probably just going to lose anyways. It’s a big pain in the neck.”
“The Port Authority would like to encourage customers to use QuickCards so that they can take advantage of the deep discounts that they provide,” said PATH Director/General Manager Michael Depallo. “We will provide a wide variety of options for customers to buy QuickCards, including more ticket vending machines, additional newsstand vendors and, for the first time, the ability to buy QuickCards on the Internet at www.pathrail.com.” But many who are paying the new price in its first week are dealing with it reluctantly.
“I don’t want to spend any more money,” said George Merlin, 57. “But what are you going to do? If you want to ride the train, you got to pay the piper. I just hope that this money is going to go to improvements that will eventually make my life easier.”
The toll and fare increase will support the Port Authority’s $9 million, five-year capital program, which will provide funds to maintain and renew bridges and tunnels, install “smart highway” technology to improve traffic flow, purchase a new PATH cars and upgrade PATH’s existing signal system.
The PATH system currently has 345 rail cars in operation. About 250 will be replaced, another 95 renovated and still a yet unknown number of new cars will be added.