Well, the summer fun is here

Well, the summer fun is here. Oh the pain, the pain! NJT is pulling out some nice stuff for discounts this summer but it seems to be lacking in trains.

http://www.njtransit.com/ne_specialpromos.shtm

"ADD A NEW DIMENSION TO YOUR SUMMER FUN WHEN YOU RIDE NJ TRANSIT!"

And yes, people get paid to come up with statements like that. Also, don't forget to get your free 3-D glasses so you can view NJT's website in 3-D! (If there was still a rolleyes option on this site, this is where I would put it.) :D

Those slogans do attract people to check out what they have to offer.

I do think that the 3D thing is pretty cool though!!

They are offering special fares for going down the shore.

http://www.njtransit.com/ne_specialprom ... kages.shtm

No one-seat ride from North Jersey, though. The NJCL Express leaves from Hoboken at 9:38 am...and funny enough, on this page, it only shows departure times from as far south as Belmar. (Don't ask me why.

Advertising does get attention and does work. Seems to me that NJT should really push train travel to the beach. Traffic is awful.

My wife comes from Long Beach, NY. The LIRR to Long Beach is widely used to get to the beach. In the summer the trains are packed with people in beach clothes, with beach chairs, etc. It can be annoying actually but it is used.

The NJCL runs close to quite a few beaches. LIRR direct service to beaches is actually much more limited.

Properly promoted and scheduled lots of people would take NJT to the beach, directly helping the economy of NJ. I think they still need work with this aspect.

I still don't get the 3-D glasses bit though.

Mark Schweber wrote: In the summer the trains are packed with people in beach clothes, with beach chairs, etc. It can be annoying actually but it is used.

Bikinis are annoying?!?

Is there a lot of sand tracked onto the trains normally?

How ridiculous these schedules are. There is one express train out of NY (that only runs on Saturdays) and it doesnt even stop at Secaucus Jct! To get to the beach, you either have to go through Hoboken or take one of those time consuming locals at Secaucus. If NJT was smart they would coordinate a weekend express train with the trains that leave Secaucus Junction. If anyone has EVER been on the Parkway on a Saturday you know that the 1 hour 15 minute drive from Bergen County turns into a 3 hour trek to the beach. You would think that someone in their infinite wisdom might realize that they have a very large amount of people that might be willing to take the train if it was time effective. I would love to take the train to avoid having to leave at 6:30am on Saturday or sit in 3-4 hours of traffic from the time you enter the parkway to the time you are on the sand.... not to mention the parking problems. Instead of having fewer trains that they run to the shore than they used to, they should be marketing this service. The "Shore Express" that used to run to the beach used to be very popular. While there would not be a one seat ride, it would make sense that people would still use the service. The only people that really can use the time effective service to the people that live in Hoboken or Newark. NJ Transit really needs to be more rethink their strategies if they want to maximize their ridership.

A car is a better way to the beach than a train, especially if you have a woman w/u or want to pick one up down there. Leave early, come back late, make it a long day.

Yes, you guys are definitely right. NJT has not clue how to run trains to the beaches. I was looking at old PRSL schedules last night and its a shame we are forced to sit in traffic now and the trip takes longer. How is sitting on the Parkway, its bad down here in South Jersey too, progress compared to taking the trains of years past???

BlockLine_4111 wrote:A car is a better way to the beach than a train, especially if you have a woman w/u or want to pick one up down there. Leave early, come back late, make it a long day.

I went with my g/f all last year on the trains. The trains back run fairly late. We had a number of days from about 11:30 to 10:30 at night which is long enough. There was another time where we drove and never found parking under $30 and said the hell with it. Which one is better? Also means that no one has to be the designated driver.

I hate the fact that there's no express back on Saturday, but it's alright. Go to the liquor store, get a 12 of your favorite beverage and the time flies. Then you get the chance to finish up in Hoboken and take the last train back to Bergen County. There's more to getting there than just getting there.

RyanOv-

You would have liked the Bergen Shore Express, express from Harmon Cove to Long Branch. Even w/o a g/f there was plenty of eye candy on that train.

4111

nick11a wrote:Is there a lot of sand tracked onto the trains normally?

That's where the Atlantic City boardwalk originated, to let most of the sand drop off before the passengers entered the train.

chuchubob wrote:

nick11a wrote:Is there a lot of sand tracked onto the trains normally?

That's where the Atlantic City boardwalk originated, to let most of the sand drop off before the passengers entered the train.

Haha. Yeah. I just recall several times my family (7 kids) going to the beach and coming back home the sand was everywhere! In the car etc. Ughh!

The shore towns have a vested interest in convenient train schedules, too. It's one thing to acommodate hordes of beach-goers every summer weekend; quite another to acommodate those hordes and their cars.

Lots of valuable property in those beach towns. Seems a waste to devote so much of it to parking.