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I heard many times that daily commute from NJ to the city is painful with frequent delays. Is commuting on LIRR from Long Island just as painful? Both are through Penn Station.... Any insights?
I am posting this question on both forums, looking for folks who had experience commuting to both areas... Thank you for your inputs!
I have lived in LI and NJ I find that I, like the old vampires say,,, need the SOIL. Bugs me out to stay on any crowded island, I needed to get back to the continental USA at least once a week. Just me, but I find most people in LI have always lived there so they are used to it. Too much traffic in LI and only several ways out,,, NO thanks.
I've done LIRR, NJT Train and NJ Coach bus (not NJT bus). For train, it depends heavily on which line you're taking. For LIRR, the best and most reliable line is probably the Port Washington line because it's the only one that doesn't go through Jamaica (which often has switching problems). I think for NJT train, the bergen/main line to Hoboken is probably the most reliable because it doesn't share tunnels w/ Amtrak, but then of course it's not a direct line into Manhattan (you either need to switch at Secaucus which negates that previous statement, or transfer to PATH at Hoboken which I actually don't think is too bad). The new PATH/subway station down by Word Trade is really nice btw.
NJT bus is cheap and fast and not subject to the craziness that's Penn station, but PABT is prob the most disgusting of the 3 major transportation hubs in Manhattan, and if there are delays those NJT bus lines can get really long (but move fairly quickly). Then again, Penn Station is an absolute madhouse too when there are delays and around the holidays. I personally like Coach bus more bc the lines are shorter at PABT, but the tickets are more expensive. Bus is fastest before 7am and after 630-7pm.
There are too many variables to definitively say one mode is better/faster than the others, but one thing I'll suggest is to really do a lot of research into the parking situation if you need to drive to the bus/train from your home.
Edit: this was not in OP, but Metro North is probably the best out of all the suburb commuting options.
Had a decent commute from hicksvill Long Island for many years that was superior to my bus commute from NJ, but I’ve heard LIRR has gotten much worse recently. And it’s highly dependent on your family situation and work location. In some cases the best suburban commute is NJ, in some cases it’s Westchester and in some cases it’s LI.
I am from Queens and moved to NJ.. The LIRR is utter trash. My friend on numerous occasions came to my apartment after work cause the delays were so bad that he would take the subway to me and wait it out till the mid evening and attempt to go home. It became such a hassle that he just drove to my house in the mornings and parked his car and took the subway into Manhattan.
I love the coach buses but I hate the Port Authority with a passion. Its insulting to believe that we are entering our 2nd decade in the 21st century and this is what our infrastructure looks like.
I am from Queens and moved to NJ.. The LIRR is utter trash. My friend on numerous occasions came to my apartment after work cause the delays were so bad that he would take the subway to me and wait it out till the mid evening and attempt to go home. It became such a hassle that he just drove to my house in the mornings and parked his car and took the subway into Manhattan.
I love the coach buses but I hate the Port Authority with a passion. Its insulting to believe that we are entering our 2nd decade in the 21st century and this is what our infrastructure looks like.
I'm not familiar with the commute with the LIRR, but it depends on where you live in NJ for the commute to NYC.
Living directly off the PATH train my commute to Brooklyn was about 40 minutes which wasn't too bad. But from Bergen County taking the bus it would be about an hour.
They can replace the PABT at the same time they shut the North River Tunnels down for renovation and maybe shut down a PATH line for no good reason, then we'll have a real Summer of Hell.
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