borisp wrote:


"A Streetcar Named Progress":

One of my favorite former colleagues, Emily Bobrow of the Economist, explains why streetcars are a bad idea. The short version: They don?t move faster than buses, at least not in the U.S., where they?re rarely given dedicated lanes. And because they require a big fixed investment, they?re very expensive, and inflexible, compared to buses.

So why are cities suddenly going streetcar-mad?

NewtoJCGirl wrote:
Hey Heightsbrat - is that for any 2 zonebus pass or do you have to purchase a specific type? My husband buys the monthly but we don't see where it states it covers the light rail also, that can really come in handy!

Quote:

HeightsBrat wrote:
Since I don't drive & have to commute, I have found it useful to purchase a monthly 2-Zone pass from NJT. It costs $72/mo & entitles me to ride NJT buses anywhere in Hudson County & the Light Rail. Not to bad a deal for me personally.

HeightsBrat wrote:
Quote:

NewtoJCGirl wrote:
Hey Heightsbrat - is that for any 2 zonebus pass or do you have to purchase a specific type? My husband buys the monthly but we don't see where it states it covers the light rail also, that can really come in handy!

Quote:

HeightsBrat wrote:
Since I don't drive & have to commute, I have found it useful to purchase a monthly 2-Zone pass from NJT. It costs $72/mo & entitles me to ride NJT buses anywhere in Hudson County & the Light Rail. Not to bad a deal for me personally.

Hi NewtoJCGirl - I just purchase the standard 2 zone pass, there is no specific type. It doesn't state that it covers the Light Rail but I found out from the agent I purchase my pass from. I was buying the 1 zone pass, which only covers Jersey City & 1 stop in Hoboken & Secaucus. The 2 zone pass was $18 dollars more so I asked what that got me & that's when I found out it included all of Hudson County plus the Light Rail.

NewtoJCGirl wrote:
Hey Heightsbrat - is that for any 2 zonebus pass or do you have to purchase a specific type? My husband buys the monthly but we don't see where it states it covers the light rail also, that can really come in handy!

Quote:

HeightsBrat wrote:
Since I don't drive & have to commute, I have found it useful to purchase a monthly 2-Zone pass from NJT. It costs $72/mo & entitles me to ride NJT buses anywhere in Hudson County & the Light Rail. Not to bad a deal for me personally.

HeightsBrat wrote:
Since I don't drive & have to commute, I have found it useful to purchase a monthly 2-Zone pass from NJT. It costs $72/mo & entitles me to ride NJT buses anywhere in Hudson County & the Light Rail. Not to bad a deal for me personally.

SRhia wrote:
And user1111 is correct about the rules (one trip, in continuous direction).

bodhipooh wrote:
Quote:

JadedJC wrote:
I was surprised by the reduced time when I recently had to run a couple of quick errands at Newport Mall. I used to be able to go there and back on one ticket. Cutting the time isn't going to cut down on fare beating, it just punishes those who ride the system legally. Now, my way of rebelling is to offer my ticket - if there's still time left on it - to someone on the platform when I get off. I've noticed others doing the same or leaving their valid tickets in one of the ticket vending machines.

Two comments/reactions to your post:

- Two wrongs don't make a right. Your passing on the ticket to someone is actually working AGAINST YOURSELF. As more people beat the system and "fare jump" the costs remain the same, or higher, but the revenue is flat or lower. Long term, that's an untenable situation.

- Tickets are valid for ONE continuous trip. It doesn't matter if the "ticket police" are aware if this, or not. That's the stated rule. It has been argued right here on JCList in the past, and yes, someone always points out that police/agents checking tickets do not enforce that, but that doesn't mean you should exploit their ignorance or dereliction of duty. As a good citizen, and as a user of the HBLR system, that *knows better* you should try and use the system as designed. See my first point above: the more people game the system, or refuse to pay for their trips, the more reason NJT has to increase fares.

nyrgravey9 wrote:
I can't remember the last time I paid for the light rail in the last 5 years. I'm such a rebel eh?

JadedJC wrote:
I was surprised by the reduced time when I recently had to run a couple of quick errands at Newport Mall. I used to be able to go there and back on one ticket. Cutting the time isn't going to cut down on fare beating, it just punishes those who ride the system legally. Now, my way of rebelling is to offer my ticket - if there's still time left on it - to someone on the platform when I get off. I've noticed others doing the same or leaving their valid tickets in one of the ticket vending machines.

JadedJC wrote:
Quote:

user1111 wrote:

As far as the time stamp, it clearly says on their website that each ticket is good for one ride (not a round-trip ticket) only in one continuous direction.

I once asked an officer checking tickets and he said "as long as you haven't surpassed the time on the ticket, you're OK." I got the impression they were aware people made multiple trips on one ticket but it was too much trouble to figure out if they were on the first trip or the second or third. In my experience they've checked my ticket on a number of return trips and have never questioned the direction I was headed (i.e. back toward the station where the validation stamp was made).

user1111 wrote:

As far as the time stamp, it clearly says on their website that each ticket is good for one ride (not a round-trip ticket) only in one continuous direction.

user1111 wrote:
It is clearly not the worst, and mos def not the best. As person who takes the light rail regularly down to PH. I can firmly say the LR is reliable, rarely ever late, it has only been shut down once, during Sandy.

As far as the time stamp, it clearly says on their website that each ticket is good for one ride (not a round-trip ticket) only in one continuous direction.