Wednesday, September 07, 2011

Take Action - Help Restore Access To NJ TRANSIT Trains

As we mentioned in our August 29th post NJ TRANSIT has banned the boarding and deboarding of bicycles at low platform rail stations. You can take action by sending this letter to James Simpson, Commissioner for the New Jersey Department of Transportation and Chairman of NJ TRANSIT. We encourage you to add your own personal comments.

Scroll right to view the letter or click here to view the web page in its own tab.
This new policy change cuts off access to more than half of NJ TRANSIT’s heavy commuter rail stations including the critically important Hoboken Terminal. On some NJ TRANSIT Train lines, the lack of high level platform stations in conjunction with this new policy effectively creates a ban of bicycles from those NJ TRANSIT lines. On the Montclair/Boonton Line only 15 of 28 stations have high level platform stations. On the Pascack Valley Line it’s only 6 of the 18. 8 of 26 on the Gladstone. 6 of 19 on the Raritan Valley and 5 of the 21 stations on the Main/Bergen Line.

Other popular and populous locations are affected. Bound Brook near the Delaware and Raritan Canal, Convent Station on a popular rail trail. Ditto for Belmar, Manasquan, Perth Amboy, Clifton, Suffern and 4 stations in Montclair.

1 comment:

Terre Haute Karl said...

NJ Transit's bike policy is a joke. They try to come off like they are bike friendly but their policy on bicycles makes it nearly impossible to ever take a bike on a train except in the middle of the night to some place no one else is going. Some highlights:
- not allowed on NE Corridor northbound in the am
- not allowed on NE corridor southbound in the evening
- if there is not space in the handicapped area you can't board
- if you are on board and someone needing the handicapped space wants to get on, you need to get off and catch the next train
- and the topper...the conductor can make you get off at his/her discretion

Don't even bother. NJT obviously doesn't want bikes on their trains.