No Transit Strike

Update on March 3, 2016

March NJ Transit rail passes will be honored on all NJT buses and the PATH.

Maplewood Ride Share Program Facebook Page - If you are willing to drive or need a ride to NYC, please list your name on the Facebook page. March 14th is ten days away and you will want to have arrangements made in plenty of time.

Maplewood Makes Plans for Possible NJ Transit Rail Strike

As of March 3rd, contract negotiations between NJ Transit and 11 rail unions have been unsuccessful. At lease one more negotiation session is scheduled. A possible rail strike will impact Maplewood commuters beginning Monday, March 14th.

In preparation for a strike, Maplewood officials developed a contingency plan. “We will help residents get to work by using our jitneys and facilitating ride sharing,” said Mayor Vic De Luca. “Please plan to start your commute earlier than usual and for those able to do so, we encourage you to work at home or from the Maplewood Library buildings,” said De Luca.

Transportation options will be available to Maplewood residents ONLY.

Ride-Share program: Maplewood Township will open two (2) Ride-Share hubs: Maplewood Pool Parking Lot on Boyden Avenue and DeHart Community Center on Burnett Avenue.

Commuters interested in carpooling (drivers and passengers) will be able to make arrangements by visiting the Township’s Ride-Share Facebook page. The page will be set up to identify those willing to drive and those interested in being passengers. Instructions will be given so that drivers and passengers can connect and make arrangements with one another.

Maplewood Pool Parking Lot: Limited parking will be available for commuters to park vehicles in the Maplewood Pool parking lot. Commuters are encouraged to get dropped off at this location to avoid traffic congestion and parking difficulties.

DeHart Community Center: There will be no parking available in the DeHart Community Center lots. Commuters are asked to use residential streets (all day parking available) and walk to the Community Center to meet their rides.

Jitney Services to Irvington Bus Terminal:

During the strike, the jitneys will not pick up passengers at the established jitney stops.

The jitney buses will transport Maplewood commuters to and from Maplewood Town Hall and the Irvington Bus Terminal on Springfield Avenue.

Bus options at the Irvington Terminal:

Number 25 express and regular buses to Newark Penn Station (25 to 35 minutes). From Newark Penn Station, commuters will be able to take the PATH to Wall Street or 33rd Street. Also at Newark Penn Station is the NJ Transit Number 108 bus to New York Port Authority. The trip is about 40 minutes.

Number 107 bus to New York Port Authority is available at the Irvington Terminal but it is expected that these buses will be at capacity prior to arriving at the Terminal.

You will be able to use your March NJT rail pass for the bus and PATH fares.

If you don’t have a NJT rail pass, the one-way fares are $1.60 on the #25 bus, $6 on the #108 bus and $7 on the #107 bus. All are exact change. The PATH is an additional fare.

Morning commute: 5:00am to 9:00am - Jitney buses will line up in front of Maplewood Town Hall to transport commuters to the Irvington Bus Terminal. There will be no parking available in the Town Hall lot. Commuter parking rules on the streets around the train station and Town Hall will remain in effect. Jitney riders without parking permits should be dropped off near Town Hall.

Evening/Night commute: 6:00pm to 9:30pm - Jitney buses will be available at the Irvington Terminal at a location to be determined. Commuters will be dropped off in front of Maplewood Town Hall.

These services are only available for Maplewood residents and proof of residency is required. Jitney passes will be valid. Non-jitney pass holders have to pay a $1 fare (exact change). Seats are limited and transportation for all commuters is not guaranteed. Please plan on arriving early and waiting for jitney availability.

Additional Option For Residents Living Near Springfield Avenue - There are four (4) Number 375 express buses that run from Maplewood to Newark Penn Station between 7am and 7:50am. The trip is about 30 minutes. Additionally, there are Number 25 non-express buses that run throughout the morning and take just over a half hour. You can use your March NJT train pass or the one-way fare is $2.55 (exact change). Springfield Avenue bus stops include Indiana St, Princeton St, Dollar Tree, Walgreens and Boyden Ave.

See bus schedule and fare information.

Maplewood Library Work Space: There are three rooms at the Main Library that can be used for meetings and conferences. The Hilton Branch also has meeting space. Please contact the library to reserve work space. Wi-Fi is available at the library.

Another possibility during rush hour is to take the 31 bus (Maplewood Loop) to Valley Street to SO Avenue to Newark Penn Station for connection to PATH or 107/108 buses to Port Authority.  Don't know if this bus (Coach) will be honoring NJT monthly train ticket.

The 70 bus, which runs from Livingston Mall to Newark Penn Station via SA makes the same stops along SA as the 375 and Maplewood Loop 25 buses.

Note:  Most of the local 25 buses originate by the bus garage and do not go further west along SA.  

Jamie-- maybe make this a sticky?

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Because the Jitney rides to the bus terminal will be limited to Maplewood residents, it might be a good idea to have the Jitney drivers to mention this on their usual runs leading up the the strike because there is currently no prohibition on non-residents riding the jitney.  And if they don't live here, they might not keep up with what is posted on Maplewood social media.

I wonder if we could get the Jitney schedule to loop to Newark Penn Station to catch the Path.  It wouldn't be able to run as often but that could save a lot of headaches.

RobinM2 said:

Because the Jitney rides to the bus terminal will be limited to Maplewood residents, it might be a good idea to have the Jitney drivers to mention this on their usual runs leading up the the strike because there is currently no prohibition on non-residents riding the jitney.  And if they don't live here, they might not keep up with what is posted on Maplewood social media.

Do people drive their cars from out of town and park near Jitney stops??

Sac:  Some Millburn residents had been taking the Wyoming jitney.  I don't know if that is still the case.

Jeff:  I would assume the aim is to transport as many train commuters as possible to a location where they can access public transportation that will get them to the City.  Changing the jitney destination from Irvington Bus Terminal to Newark Penn Station would at a minimum double travel time, thereby cutting the number of passengers who could be transported in half.  Plus, there would be added problems with dealing with the congestion at Newark Penn Station, finding a drop off point, etc.  If you want to reach Newark Penn Station without changing buses, I would suggest taking the 375, 25, 70, 31, 107, or 1 bus, depending on which is closest to you.  All pass through Maplewood and all stop at Newark Penn Station.

We will be distributing information on the jitney buses next week. Still holding out hope for a settlement. 

Regarding taking our jitney buses to Newark Penn Station, (1) NJ Transit has advised us there will be no place near Penn Station to drop off or pick up passengers and (2) the time to get to Newark and back to Maplewood will take too long and cut our passenger capacity in half. With the current plan we can transport about 150 people an hour. 

From the Maplewood Pool parking lot it's a very short walk to Springfield Ave. where you can catch the 375, 25 or 70 buses to Penn Station on the corner of Boyden and Springfield. If you walk down to 43rd St.(a 7 min walk) the 25 buses coming out of the garage stop there first and come out about every 5 minutes. You'll be getting on an empty bus guaranteed and they usually won't stop at a stop that already has a 25 bus loading up. Good chance it will drive right past Irvington Terminal.

There are 3 flavors of the 25 bus and all go down Springfield Ave but have different origination and termination points from and to Maplewood. The 25 43rd St. bus originates at 43rd St and terminates at 43rd St. (Becker Terrace) on Springfield Ave near the NJT garage. The 25 Maplewood Loop bus terminates and originates at the bus stop between the Audi dealership and Natural cleaners on Millburn Ave and the Go Bus originates and terminates at Irvington Terminal.

My experience has been the 25 bus to Newark Penn is fine especially from 43rd st., but coming home the buses are usually packed and standing room only during normal commuter days. Lines at Newark Penn can be long and people in the front of the line are not guaranteed to be first on the bus. It depends where the bus driver decides to stop and open the door. Hopefully NJT will add 25 buses to the return commute to accommodate the extra passengers and it won't be so bad. Best case would be to add more express buses that go to Millburn Ave. so you can get off at Boyden Ave and it's a short walk to the pool parking lot or stay on for other stops in Maplewood on Springfield. Even if the last stop is 43rd St. (really Becker Terrace)on Springfield Ave which most 25 buses are, the walk to the pool parking lot is not that long, maybe 7 or 8 minutes.

The Go bus only goes as far as Irvington Terminal.

Do the Newark-bound 375 buses pick up anywhere else along Springfield Ave west of Boyden Ave, like in front of Deals? Or do they express from the Millburn Ave loop to Boyden? If you plug in directions on Google Maps, it says you can catch the 375 there, but I don't trust it, because isn't the 375 supposed to be an express? I know you can catch the 25 and 70 in front of Deals.

tweezer said:

Do the Newark-bound 375 buses pick up anywhere else along Springfield Ave west of Boyden Ave, like in front of Deals? Or do they express from the Millburn Ave loop to Boyden? If you plug in directions on Google Maps, it says you can catch the 375 there, but I don't trust it, because isn't the 375 supposed to be an express? I know you can catch the 25 and 70 in front of Deals.

The 375 is express from Grove St. to MLK Blvd. Makes Local stops otherwise along Springfield.  

The stops typically are every few blocks starting around Millburn Avenue. Many of the buses do a turn around near the Audi dealer. Google Map it.

Maplewood bus stops for the 375 & 25 buses are identified in my original post above.

Not sure if this helps: http://www.scribd.com/doc/301996603/NJT-Rail-Plan#fullscreen

jeffhandy said:

I wonder if we could get the Jitney schedule to loop to Newark Penn Station to catch the Path.  It wouldn't be able to run as often but that could save a lot of headaches.

Actually it seems South Orange is doing something similar to what you suggested and I agree: I believe their jitneys are running to Newark Broad (not Newark Penn which will be very congested) and from their people will be catching the Newark Broad light rail to get to Newark Penn, able to catch the PATH or buses. As here you need to be resident however.

ETA to correct the above slightly. The SO jitneys will be going to some light rail site TBD. It could be Newark Broad or NJ PAC. Jitneys are not permitted to go to Newark Penn according to what NJ Transit posted or what South Orange posted:

"The Village has been advised that our Jitneys (and other municipal or private busses) will not be permitted to drop off directly at Newark Penn Station. As a result, the Village will have Jitneys drop off at an NJ Transit Light Rail (which will not be affected by the strike) station. From there, commuters can take a short light rail ride to Newark Penn Station and transfer to a PATH train to New York. The specific Light Rail Station to be used for drop offs is still being determined, pending an evaluation of the best route and drop off and pick up locations. As soon as the details are resolved and the location finalized, details will be posted on the Village website."

If there is a strike, the South Orange Elks have offered to open their building to affected commuters as a temporary work space for those who may not want to work from home.  Depending on demand, we will open our doors by 9 AM.  WiFi is available along with plenty of open space seating.  We did something similar during super storm Sandy and it was very well received by the community.  

Wow, that's really generous.

johnnyr said:

If there is a strike, the South Orange Elks have offered to open their building to affected commuters as a temporary work space for those who may not want to work from home.  Depending on demand, we will open our doors by 9 AM.  WiFi is available along with plenty of open space seating.  We did something similar during super storm Sandy and it was very well received by the community.  

Awesome. Good show, Elks!

Great idea.  Nice job, Elks crowd.

johnnyr said:

If there is a strike, the South Orange Elks have offered to open their building to affected commuters as a temporary work space for those who may not want to work from home.  Depending on demand, we will open our doors by 9 AM.  WiFi is available along with plenty of open space seating.  We did something similar during super storm Sandy and it was very well received by the community.  

You guys rock. You would rock even more if the bar is open.

To follow on the SO Elks post, any Elks on MOL who would like to volunteer and staff the lodge with me next week, please send me a PM.  

Also, I'm checking on the bar hours...

xavier67 said:

johnnyr said:

If there is a strike, the South Orange Elks have offered to open their building to affected commuters as a temporary work space for those who may not want to work from home.  Depending on demand, we will open our doors by 9 AM.  WiFi is available along with plenty of open space seating.  We did something similar during super storm Sandy and it was very well received by the community.  

You guys rock. You would rock even more if the bar is open.

Just don't tell the boss.  

In the event that there is a strike; when will it start?

Based upon past experience, I would expect that trains that are rolling at midnight on the 13th will continue to their destination, making all scheduled stops.

Does anybody know what the plan is for this Sunday?

Thanks for any help. The lovely bride will be in The City on Saturday evening.

TomR

Tom_R said:

In the event that there is a strike; when will it start?

Based upon past experience, I would expect that trains that are rolling at midnight on the 13th will continue to their destination, making all scheduled stops.

Does anybody know what the plan is for this Sunday?

Thanks for any help. The lovely bride will be in The City on Saturday evening.

TomR

It’s assumed trains would have to be gradually taken out of service to avoid passengers being stranded, similar to what NJ Transit did before Superstorm Sandy. If there's a strike, It would begin on Sunday 12:01 AM.

Thought I just heard that no concrete plan is in place for the shutdown and the possibility is for people to be stuck come one minute after midnight. Could be posturing from either side though.

georgieboy said:

Thought I just heard that no concrete plan is in place for the shutdown and the possibility is for people to be stuck come one minute after midnight. Could be posturing from either side though.

NPR and the Star Ledger have reported that NJ Transit has contingency plans in place so that passengers on trains are not stranded at 12:01 AM Sunday.  However, what those plans are have not yet been made available AFAIK.  The union reps also have said that if talks are proceeding well they may not go on strike, even if no agreement has been made by Sunday.  

edit: words

johnnyr said:

georgieboy said:

Thought I just heard that no concrete plan is in place for the shutdown and the possibility is for people to be stuck come one minute after midnight. Could be posturing from either side though.

NPR and the Star Ledger have reported that NJ Transit has contingency plans in place so that passengers on trains are not stranded at 12:01 AM Sunday.  However, what those plans are have not yet been made available AFAIK.  The union reps also have said that if talks are proceeding well they may not go on strike, even if no agreement has been made by Sunday.  

edit: words

Passengers may or may not be sympathetic to the workers if they go out on strike, but it will make things worse if they "strand" people that way.

How can they simply stop the trains?  I would assume that the train crews will need to get to the final destination themselves to get themselves home.

georgieboy said:

Thought I just heard that no concrete plan is in place for the shutdown and the possibility is for people to be stuck come one minute after midnight. Could be posturing from either side though.

I only wrote what I heard reported on 1010 WINS this AM. Agree that it doesn't make sense and would be counter productive to workers gaining any support at all from riders. Interesting times indeed.