Preliminary Plans For New Port Authority Bus Terminal

The Port Authority has released a report describing some preliminary options for replacing its crumbling mid-town bus terminal. Several options involve relocating long distance inter-city bus services to an unspecified off-site location.  Two alternatives are to construct a new terminal somewhere between 9th and 11th avenues which would mean a lack of direct subway access for commuters.  Others involve keeping the terminal near its current location, which would require interim bus terminal facilities for several years while the terminal is re-built.


The report discusses several near-term options for dealing with commuting issues in and out of the terminal which may seem promising:

• Exploring strategies to manage near term growth at the existing terminal:
• Route consolidation
• Hub & spoke operations
• Hudson River ferries
• Service to other transit hubs in NY and NJ (George Washington Bridge Bus Station, Secaucus Junction, ferry terminals)
• Gate utilization

We have long been an advocate of shifting some buses to run via the under-utilized George Washington Bridge Bus Station, and then via the east side as an alternative to the Lincoln Tunnel and the mid-town terminal.  NJT is already coordinating the NY Waterway ferry on its River Road bus service.  Further, the infamous port authority gate re-shuffling has seemed to alleviate some of the pm rush hour commuting delays.

A new terminal is a must for New Jersey commuters.  However, it looks like it will be years of more commuting chaos for NJ commuters to deal with the current terminal, and then years of construction, and alternate commuting as the new terminal is built.

NJT - NY Waterway Hudson Go Pass

New Jersey Transit and NY Waterway Ferry have introduced the Hudson Go Pass for commuters using NJT buses 156R, 158, 159R and the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail System.  The pass is good for unlimited rides on these NJT services as well as connecting NY Waterway Ferries from Port Imperial terminal in Weehawken.  The monthly passes cost $280 for ferry trips to midtown and $400 for the downtown ferry service.  We are glad to see the partnership between NJT and NY Waterway to help alleviate overcrowding at the Port Authority Bus Terminal.  However, NY Waterway ferries to New Jersey are still much more expensive than corresponding NJT bus service. More people would be encouraged to switch exclusively to the ferry service if the cost was lowered, which could be accomplished with state-subsidies.  This could be an immediate and simple way to help alleviate the clogged trans-hudson bridges and tunnels as well as the Port Authority Bus Terminal.