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Old 09-22-2009, 04:54 PM
 
Location: Silver Spring, MD/Washington DC
3,520 posts, read 9,201,087 times
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Another, cheaper option would be to use the SEPTA R5 from a Main Line station to 30th Street Station and then walk roughly a block and get on BoltBus or Megabus. Both of these curbside carriers stop adjacent to 30th Street Station, and both run express to NYC (though I think Megabus also stops near Independence Mall and BoltBus stops in/near Cherry Hill, NJ). The NYC stops for both carriers are near Penn Station.

These options would be slower but much cheaper than Amtrak. They'd probably also be a little faster and cheaper than SEPTA/NJ Transit.
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Old 09-22-2009, 10:02 PM
 
Location: East Coast
2,932 posts, read 5,395,797 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by comingtopa View Post
I've looked for similar threads to no avail, which is why I started my own thread--can you post links if you know where they are?
Here's a link to my Google search...top hit shows several threads from City-Data (one of which is yours):

Google
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Old 09-22-2009, 11:48 PM
 
Location: South Philly
1,943 posts, read 6,954,529 times
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I would claim a different domicile if you want avoid the Philly wage tax. And BTW - some suburban towns also have a wage tax so do your research there.

If you're taking Acela then it's not that big of a deal, it's an hour from 30th St, assuming that you don't have a long subway ride once you get to Penn Station.

If you're taking the Keystone from Paoli you're looking at 2 hours+ each way.
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Old 09-23-2009, 06:32 AM
 
6 posts, read 22,091 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LibraGirl123 View Post
Here's a link to my Google search...top hit shows several threads from City-Data (one of which is yours):

Google
Thanks for the link, but that's a different question--we originally looked at Bucks County, but now are just looking at Montgomery Co and the Main Line.

I printed out some timetables and crunched the numbers, and while the Septa/NJ Transit option costs half as much as Amtrak, it would be a solid three hours to and from work, assuming we live in Bryn Mawr or closer to Philly on the R5. The Boltbus, while inexpensive, is not even on the table--call me a prima donna, but I can't sit in traffic on a bus for five hours a day. The Amtrak will get me to work in about two hours, door to door. It costs an arm and a leg and sadly is not tax deductible, but sometimes you have to, well, bite the bullet.

Thanks, all, for the good advice and tips! We're really excited to make the move.
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Old 09-23-2009, 10:11 AM
 
Location: Philly
10,220 posts, read 16,723,438 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by comingtopa View Post
Thanks for the link, but that's a different question--we originally looked at Bucks County, but now are just looking at Montgomery Co and the Main Line.

I printed out some timetables and crunched the numbers, and while the Septa/NJ Transit option costs half as much as Amtrak, it would be a solid three hours to and from work, assuming we live in Bryn Mawr or closer to Philly on the R5. The Boltbus, while inexpensive, is not even on the table--call me a prima donna, but I can't sit in traffic on a bus for five hours a day. The Amtrak will get me to work in about two hours, door to door. It costs an arm and a leg and sadly is not tax deductible, but sometimes you have to, well, bite the bullet.

Thanks, all, for the good advice and tips! We're really excited to make the move.
there's excellent SEPTA service from Bryn Mawr to 30th st (12 minute express) BUT it requires TWO fares (SEPTA and Amtrak). So long as you're comfortable with that. again, consider getting the Amtrak credit card to rack up points for free rail trips to, say, DC or Boston or trade them in for gift certificates.
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Old 11-18-2009, 01:34 PM
 
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are you doing the philly to nyc commute? how is it working? what city are you living in?
I'm about to start doing the same thing but want to avoid a disaster.
thanks for your input.
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Old 11-18-2009, 02:11 PM
 
250 posts, read 902,569 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tone509 View Post
Perhaps with the Amtrak Rider-In-Chief occupying the Vice-President's Office, perhaps that will change for the commuters' benefit in the not too distant future.
The problem is I don't think they consider Amtrak a commuter service (although one can say many do use it as so, including Biden from DE to DC); but if Philly wants to be a commuting city to NY, it has to be a regional service that offers it. The closest is SEPTA to NJ Transit.

For example, between Baltimore and DC, it's the MARC line that's a commuter service, subsidized by MD taxpayers.
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Old 11-18-2009, 02:20 PM
 
Location: Highland, CA (formerly Newark, NJ)
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It'd be a heck of a lot cheaper taking the Septa to Trenton and NJ Transit to NY and it'd only take a few more minutes.
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Old 11-18-2009, 03:37 PM
 
8,975 posts, read 21,051,977 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by subwayfan View Post
The problem is I don't think they consider Amtrak a commuter service (although one can say many do use it as so, including Biden from DE to DC); but if Philly wants to be a commuting city to NY, it has to be a regional service that offers it. The closest is SEPTA to NJ Transit.

For example, between Baltimore and DC, it's the MARC line that's a commuter service, subsidized by MD taxpayers.
I think Amtrak used to have an hourly service called "Clockers" that ran during morning and evening rush hour between NYC and Philly. They may have changed the name but I'm fairly sure that there is still some "rush hour" service.

Regarding MARC service between Bmore and DC, I think that came out of the former city's dependency on jobs from the latter. While there is an increase of NYC expatriates to Philly, I don't think it's at the same level. Not to mention there's no chance that SEPTA or NJ Transit would yield right-of-way to the other for a direct train to and from NY.
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Old 11-18-2009, 04:41 PM
 
Location: South Philly
1,943 posts, read 6,954,529 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by twista6002 View Post
It'd be a heck of a lot cheaper taking the Septa to Trenton and NJ Transit to NY and it'd only take a few more minutes.
Suburban Station to NY Penn Station takes 2:20 most of the time. Timewise Amtrak saves you anywhere from :45 to 1:20.
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