Quote:
Originally Posted by cici1075
oh ok - normal stuff - I thought it was for delays lol - I was like OH NO!
|
Well, for some commutes delays can be relatively normal. And it's especially been worse the past few months. My train (8:05 from South Orange) is supposed to get in at 8:38, but while I want to say it never happens - it has happened, but maybe like 3 times a year tops. I would say I normally get in about 8:45. Recently it's been closer to 8:50.
Keep in mind Penn Station is a nightmare, so you need to allow 5 minutes to get out of the station.
For perspective here's what my commute tends to be like.
7:44 - Leave my house to get the South Orange jitney to the train station
7:47 - Jitney arrives (usually on time), gets me to the station about 8:00
8:05 - Train to Penn Station. Often on time.
8:38 - HA! Totally not at Penn Station
8:45 - Finally make it to Penn Station
8:50 - I've made it out of Penn Station, start walking to work
9:10 - I've arrived at work.
(When my train is later than 8:50 I usually take a cab to work, generally ends up being $8 and I get there about the same time as if it got in earlier and I walked.)
There area few things I could change to lower the time a little. If I had a parking spot at the train I could shave 10 minutes off my leaving time. If I hustled to make sure I was one of the first people off the train I could probably shave another 5 minutes. And if I walked a little faster I could probably shave another 5 minutes.
It's worth noting that earlier trains tend to make it in on time, my train is pretty much the start of the worst time to be coming into Penn. I can't do earlier because of my son's school bus drop off, so it is what it is. My wife goes in earlier and leaves earlier and she has a lot less problems than I do because she's commuting at a less congested time.
If you're looking around South Orange be sure to check out Maplewood's downtown. It's the cuter of the two. We share a school district as we used to be the same town (and some services are shared). For almost all intents and purposes you should can treat both towns as one, well, South Orange does have a cheaper pool!
If you want to know more about this area, give me a shout!