More Mass Transit Service Available To Tri-State Area Commuters
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- More travel options are becoming available to Tri-State area commuters as mass transit gradually gets back on its feet in the wake of superstorm Sandy.
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Below is a list of the latest updates and useful links to make getting around the region easier.
NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT
All MTA commuter rail, bus and subway service is fare free until midnight. Go to the MTA website for the latest service updates.
The MTA announced Friday evening that several bus lines are now completing their routes since power has been restored to parts of lower Manhattan. Buses had been going no further south than 23rd Street.
The buses now running their full routes in Manhattan are:
- SBS M15
- M5
- M101
- M102
- M103
The M11 and M20 buses are terminating at 14th Street.
Bus Service: Buses will be operating on a near normal weekday schedule. Some routes may be operating with minor detours due to street conditions.
- LINK: New York City Bus Maps
Access-A-Ride: Service is also fare free and operating regular service. All service, both advanced reservation and subscription will be delivered, with the exception of areas in Zone A, including the Rockaways, City Island, Lower Manhattan and Staten Island.
Subway: The M and 7 trains have joined the roster of lines with available limited subway service.
"The subway system will be a shifting landscape for some time to come," said Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Joseph Lhota. "But we are making steady progress toward some level of normalcy."
Customers should expect delays and crowding on trains as the agency continues to work to bring the system to full service.
Shuttle Buses: Are running to Manhattan from three locations in Brooklyn since many of the East River tunnels remain flooded. Shuttle Bus service is available at Jay Street - MetroTech, Atlantic Avenue - Barclays Center and Hewes Street in Williamsburg to 54th Street and Lexington Avenue in Midtown Manhattan.
- LINK: Bus Stops In Manhattan
Frustrated commuters were met with long lines Thursday for shuttle buses. Some waited as long as four hours to board a bus at the Barclays Center.
At the start of the morning rush Friday, the crowds seemed more manageable.
"It's more orderly this morning than it was yesterday," one commuter said. "People I guess have resigned to their fate and understand how to get along, cooperate and do what is asked of us in a time of need. I cannot complain, it takes a little bit more time but you know what, it is what it is."
LONG ISLAND RAIL ROAD
Hourly service was restored Friday morning on the Huntington and Babylon Branches.
The LIRR is operating with only two of the four East River tunnels. Customers should expect crowded conditions on all trains until more service is restored. The LIRR said some trains may need to skip stations.
- LINK: LIRR Status Update | Babylon Schedule | Huntington Schedule | Ronkonkoma Schedule | Port Washington Schedule | Brooklyn Schedule
METRO-NORTH RAILROAD
Metro-North Railroad is operating full service from Grand Central Terminal to New Haven on the New Haven Line, to Southeast on the Harlem Line, and to Croton-Harmon on the Hudson Line.
Gov. Cuomo announced Friday evening that full train service will resume Saturday morning on Metro-North's Upper Hudson line from Croton-Harmon to Poughkeepsie.
The service completes restoration of all main lines east of the Hudson River.
The Upper Hudson line carries 8,500 passengers each weekday, according to the transit agency.
The restoration of service along the full 41-mile section of track means service is now provided to 95 percent of Metro-North customers, according to the transit agency.
There is no service on the following segments:
- the Upper Hudson from Croton-Harmon to Poughkeepsie
- the Wassaic branch at the north end of the Harlem line, which serves about 900 people a day
- the New Canaan, Danbury and Waterbury branches in Connecticut, which serve about 4,000 people combined.
There is also no service on the Pascack Valley or Port Jervis lines.
BRIDGES & TUNNELS
The Brooklyn-Battery and Queens Midtown tunnels remain closed due to flooding.
All MTA Bridges are open. The Henry Hudson and Robert F. Kennedy Bridges are subject to HOV rules between 6 a.m. and midnight.
- LINK: Status Update
NJ TRANSIT
Northeast Corridor service into New York is running.
Train service remained suspended on the North Jersey Coast, Raritan and Main lines due to a power failure at the rail operations center.
"It we don't have the Northeast Corridor back, we can't run any of the other service," said NJ TRANIST executive direction Jim Weinstein.
The goal now is to get 60 to 70 percent of the rail system back in some capacity by Monday.
"But we need to make sure that when we run the service again, it's safe," Weinstein told WCBS 880's Jim Smith. "We're not trying to figure how much it's going to cost until we've got the system running at 100 percent."
Trains may start rolling on the Raritan Valley and North Jersey coastline north of Woodbridge. Some Bergen County lines may stop at Secaucus Junction.
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Extra bus service is also planned through the Holland Tunnel and into lower Manhattan for commuters on Monday morning.
"Make it so that people can resume their normal lives, can get back to work," Weinstein told Smith.
Some of the most devastated areas will face a longer delay of service. Weinstein said there is still widespread damage to NJ TRANSIT property.
"The damage is to the rail, the light rail, to the terminals, to the maintenance facilities," Weinstein told Smith.
Full and partial bus service has been restored on most routes.
River Line light rail service is operating on a Sunday schedule.
- LINK: Service Update | Bus Service | Alerts & Advisories | Twitter
PATH
All PATH service is suspended until further notice
- LINK: Alerts & Advisories
