Hudson river town to NYC west side commute (Yorktown, Eastchester: transfer, live)

[riverer]

Dear all,

I would like to move to a Hudson river town (such as Irvington, Dobbs ferry, Hastings, Tarrytown, Croton) but I worry about the commute. I work near Columbus Circle and apart from Metro North I would need to take two subway trains say 7 and 1 just to get to columbus circle. Including walking and driving to the Metro North station it will take as much as 2 hours! In fact google directions reports 1:50min!

Does anyone here commute from a river town to west side? Any alternatives to that route? What is the fastest way?

Thanks!

[TDNY]

I used to drive from Irvington to lower manhattan. Depending on when you go in and come home, you can probably get to the CC area within 30 minutes. You just go down the Saw Mill parkway and keep going and it turns into the Henry Hudson parkway, and then you have to cut in and go a few blocks, depending on where you park. The monthly parking can get very pricy though. The traffic going north in the evening usually stinks until you get past the GW bridge turn off. Another thing you could do is to drive to somewhere on the UWS near a subway station and park (it may be substantially cheaper) and then shoot down on the subway. That'll probably save you money and may be faster on the way home.

[josmyth]

I commute from Eastchester to Lincoln Center via West side Hwy. It takes between 40 min and 1 hr door to door on most days, occasionally faster (summer, jewish holidays), or slower (Xmas tourist season or accident on X-bronx). I would prefer the train but that option is way too slow and expensive for me. If you can leave before 7:30AM and before 5:00PM you should have a pretty easy commute.

[riverer]

Thanks for your answers.
So the solution to faster public transportation is driving a car! I need to get a high mpg car (for the traffic), pay tolls and parking. Great! How about getting off at 225th street in Bronx and taking the subway 1?

[TDNY]

Why don't you try it out and see? After work one day take the subway to 225th and see how long it takes

[dma1250]

Originally Posted by riverer

Dear all,

I would like to move to a Hudson river town (such as Irvington, Dobbs ferry, Hastings, Tarrytown, Croton) but I worry about the commute. I work near Columbus Circle and apart from Metro North I would need to take two subway trains say 7 and 1 just to get to columbus circle. Including walking and driving to the Metro North station it will take as much as 2 hours! In fact google directions reports 1:50min!

Does anyone here commute from a river town to west side? Any alternatives to that route? What is the fastest way?

Thanks!

I can't see why the MetroNorth commute from Croton would take that long to the Columbus Circle area. I commute daily from Yorktown Heights to Penn Station (I drive to the Croton-Harmon station; take the train to GC; take the shuttle to Times Square; take the #1/2/3 to 34th street) and it takes one hour and 10 to 15 minutes (one hour and 20 minutes with subway problems). So, taking the #1 train up to 59th street (rather than down to 34th) should be roughly the same. And it will be less if you live closer to the train, of course.

That may be more of a commute than you want, but it really shouldn't be anywhere near an hour and 50 minutes at all.

[cali_to_nj]

You could also exit Grand Central from the Northwest Passage at 47th/Madison, walk 5-6 minutes to 47th/6th and take the B or D train 2 stops up to Columbus Circle.

[samyn on the green]

Another option is to transfer from Metro North Hudson line to the #1 train at Marble Hill/225st. Then take the #1 train from Marble Hill to 59th. You can even jump off the #1 train at 96th and hop on the express 2/3 across the platform. This will save you money everyday and it may be even faster than going all the way south and west to Grand Central.

[7 Wishes]

Originally Posted by samyn on the green

Another option is to transfer from Metro North Hudson line to the #1 train at Marble Hill/225st. Then take the #1 train from Marble Hill to 59th. You can even jump off the #1 train at 96th and hop on the express 2/3 across the platform. This will save you money everyday and it may be even faster than going all the way south and west to Grand Central.

2/3 express doesn't stop at 59th Street.

You should check out the parking at the following subway stations: #1 train 225th Street, 242nd Street. I know from some experience it is not easy and for some lots not cheap.

Another alternative may be to park along Grand Concourse along the D line's northern stations; Bedford Park Blvd. station has the most parking (possibly street parking!) and is the safest. I sometimes do that for the occasional jaunt into the City to save on Metro North fare. D train stops at 59th st/CC and is a "super express" with all stops between 125th and 59th skipped, so sometimes from Bedford Park to 59th is just 20 minutes.

Commuting to the West side is a pain. I commuted for 2 years about 20 years ago from Mt. Vernon to the West Side Metro North to 2 subways, it took me longer to do that than to drive to Peekskill (job I worked at for the following 15 years) and to Bridgeport (temp job earlier this year, but not during rush hours), even though they are 2 and 3 times the distance respectively.

[samyn on the green]

Then it is the 1 train from Marble Hill direct to Columbus Circle.

Originally Posted by 7 Wishes

2/3 express doesn't stop at 59th Street.