August Service Cuts

I know that the August service cuts have been discussed on the May 11th thread, but I thought that a thread just for this issue would be appropriate.

Despite justifications about resource utilization and the like, this is NOT the time for any transit agency to be making cutbacks. Record gas prices appear to be here to stay and other basic costs of living are also at all time highs. Yes, NJT"s costs are also higher, BUT NJT is a NON-PROFIT state agency, the people that depend on NJT are not non-profit famalies.

That said, what "off peak" trains on the NJCL are being consolidated ?? I would wager that they are the mid-morning, and mid-afternoon runs from Bay Head to Hoboken, as well as the morning run from Hoboken to Bay Head. Frankly these train offered cost line rider the only express service out of peak times, on a route that continues to have too lengthly trip times on the local trains, and NYP or HOB to Bay Head is NOT that long a trip (about 66 miles).

Truncating RVL Sunday service to every 2 hours at some times is just plain stupid, and it makes me wonder that when other new services are brought on line by NJT (MOM, Cut-off, etc) that mean older routes will also have service cut ??

These cuts are the wrong message for NJT to be sending out.

Ken

While I could understand the cuts to most of the midday Hoboken M&E runs, the next round of cuts bother me. I think the NJCL schedule should really stay the same, IN TERMS, of the weekday schedule. Maybe they don't have to run that midday BH-HOB run, ALL THE WAY to HOB in rev service, but certainly NWK would be a reasonable endpoint.
Getting to the RVL on Sundays, I believe the article actually said the first few runs Sunday morning will be every other hour. I have never ridden the RVL earlier than like 11 ish on a Sunday, so I can't really comment on the trains that run before 11 a.m. Trains running other parts of the day, do well.

I know that this is REALLY about Sunday cuts, but PLEASE bring back the shore express that runs both Sat and Sun. Last year, they raised the fare, and they took that express away on short notice. It's like we are kind of paying a lot for nothing. What I am trying to say is NJT is not up to the standards with MNR in running express trains, especially to shore points. They don't have to run the weekend expresses, during the off season, but during the summer is a must, as the locals can be extremely packed.

peconicstation wrote:NJT is a NON-PROFIT state agency

No. NJT is a State and Federally subsidized state agency that is impossible to turn a profit. Theres a difference.

Forgive my ignorance, but where are the upcoming schedule changes posted? I'm not seeing any upcoming August schedules on NJT's website.

The changes have not yet been posted. They were mentioned at the Board Meeting last week and the press picked up on it. New timetables won't be available for another 3-4 weeks. The coast line trains to be combined are likely to be the two in bound and two outbound Hoboken Expresses - they will become shuttle trips connecting at Long Branch, that that has not yet been officially announced.

Why not extend those weekend Rahway locals to South Amboy or at least Perth Amboy until the construction (in S. Amboy) is complete? The the regular Coast Line weekend trains could at least run express from no less then Woodbridge-the airport...

genesis11980 wrote:The changes have not yet been posted. They were mentioned at the Board Meeting last week and the press picked up on it. New timetables won't be available for another 3-4 weeks. The coast line trains to be combined are likely to be the two in bound and two outbound Hoboken Expresses - they will become shuttle trips connecting at Long Branch, that that has not yet been officially announced.

Why not extend those weekend Rahway locals to South Amboy or at least Perth Amboy until the construction (in S. Amboy) is complete? The the regular Coast Line weekend trains could at least run express from no less then Woodbridge-the airport...

they did that last weekend for the Puetro Rican Day Parade in NYC - most of, if not all of, the Rahway Locals were extended to South Amboy.

So NJT is planning on cutting direct Hoboken to Bay Head trains off peak and at rush hour?

This is just ridiculous. If anything they could should be increased after Hoboken Terminal was rennovated and all. What are behind these cuts?

Jtgshu wrote:

genesis11980 wrote:The changes have not yet been posted. They were mentioned at the Board Meeting last week and the press picked up on it. New timetables won't be available for another 3-4 weeks. The coast line trains to be combined are likely to be the two in bound and two outbound Hoboken Expresses - they will become shuttle trips connecting at Long Branch, that that has not yet been officially announced.

Why not extend those weekend Rahway locals to South Amboy or at least Perth Amboy until the construction (in S. Amboy) is complete? The the regular Coast Line weekend trains could at least run express from no less then Woodbridge-the airport...

they did that last weekend for the Puetro Rican Day Parade in NYC - most of, if not all of, the Rahway Locals were extended to South Amboy.

Ah! I was wondering why the heck there were South Amboy trains on the schedule on a Sunday. It seemed to screw up the boards though in some way, because the time at least for my train was incorrect (or at least announced incorrectly on board). Then again, I believe the crew also called it a Rahway train.

Perhaps we might want to test the effectiveness of a couple hundred people writing to customer service? I wonder how many readers we really have here.

I wrote an email to the governor and my state senator and assemblymen about this, urging them to find a solution to this problem, and for them to insist that transit cuts at this time should be completely off the table. I hope more people on here might do the same. I've placed the links below. And I'd love to hear if NJ-ARP is doing anything about this.

Contact the governor:
http://www.state.nj.us/governor/govmail.html

Contact your legislators by municipality:
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/SelectMun.asp

Thanks, Fred. I will do the same later this evening.

jp1822 wrote:So NJT is planning on cutting direct Hoboken to Bay Head trains off peak and at rush hour?

This is just ridiculous. If anything they could should be increased after Hoboken Terminal was rennovated and all. What are behind these cuts?

There are only two weekday reverse/off peak runs on the NJCL to/from Hoboken, the 8:30 from Hoboken to Bay Head (which runs non stop from NWK to Long Branch) and the 14:20 from Bay Head to Hoboken, running local to Matawan and then express to EWR. The morning train is lightly patronized, but does offer the only non-Secaucus way to access the Newark Division trains from Hoboken. It's very lightly patronized. The 14:20 from Bay Head is another story. It's normally heavily used, with 3 of the 5 or 6 cars open. Both trains generally use the same consist. From a rail buff perspective, I don't wish to see these trains eliminated. I can understand the logic for the AM run to Bay Head, but the afternoon train is very much needed. The trip from the lower, diesel-only segment of the NJCL is already unbearably long. I don't see the logic behind cancelling just 2 trains. The savings would be minimal.

i have taken the 830 bay head express recently... the problem is the timing is bad, it gets you to the beach at around 10am , if it left an hour later it would be much better in terms of connections and wake up time. i know alot of people who would use it if it were not so early. That said.. it was a very good way to get down the shore and on a nice day it can still feel crowded with all the groups of teens and twenty somethings from the burbs. i hate to see it go

These people are hacking away at the ability to get to Hoboken without taking the PATH or going through Secaucus (the connections there often include 30 mins of waiting time!). I just recently saw this recommended as alternate service during a disruption. Oops, guess not after August.

NJT is going to do what ever they want, and ther isn't a dam thing you can do about it. You can write your senator, congressman, assembleman, and NJT, They don't care. Thats the bottom line.

boxcar

boxcar wrote:Stop crying. NJT is going to do what ever they want, and ther isn't a dam thing you can do about it. You can write your senator, congressman, assembleman, and NJT, They don't care. Thats the bottom line. So please, stop the bitching.

As NJT is a publicly funded service, paid for in part by my tax dollars, I have every right to complain. Furthermore, if enough people complain to their elected representatives, you darn well better believe they'll care, as they are employed by us, at our will, and due to our vote. A good ol' fashioned complain-fest is often called for and can be quite effective.