Five Hudson County towns named top public transportation cities

Tuesday, August 02, 2011, 11:15 AM
By Stephanie Musat/ The Jersey Journal

Jersey City, West New York, Guttenberg, Union City and Hoboken all made the list of America's top public transportation cities by Forbes Magazine.

Hoboken took top honors, with an estimated 56 percent of workers using public transportation to get to their workplaces, the magazine said.

"We really encourage people to use public transportation," said Hoboken mayor Dawn Zimmer, "We are proud people use public transportation and we are
trying to make Hoboken a place where people have the option to live car
free."

Jersey City finished in third place, behind New York City.

To come up with the list, Forbes looked at the estimates of percentages of workers from 16 years or older who used public transportation between 2005 and 2009 via U.S. Census.

Five Hudson County towns took up spots on the 10-city list. All these places are linked together with the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail and have access to N.Y. Waterway ferry docks. The PATH network also plays a significant role in the commutes of many people who live on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River, according to the magazine.

The other spots included three towns in New York, and two from the Washington D.C. area.