In a letter to the editor, Hoboken 2nd Ward Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher gives Mile Square City residents an update on the morning commute on the first day of NJ Transit service disruption. 
Dear editor,
I was at the Hoboken Terminal this morning from about 7:45 to about 9:00 just to see how things were going and to see if I could glean any information that may benefit Hoboken commuters.
I think the single biggest take away is that there is a tidal wave of NJ Transit commuters that begin right at 8:00 and the wave continues until 8:45.
Literally, at around 7:50 I was speaking with Hoboken’s Lt. Petrosino and several NJ Transit and PATH officials, and we had the shared observation that traffic seemed light. And then a train came in at 8:00 am and the change was palpable.
And it stayed until 8:45 when it started to dissipate.
Today may not be fully representative of what to expect for the next 45 days, as Monday mornings in the summer are often lighter due to people being away for long weekends.
But… if you can get to the station either before 8:00 or after 8:45 I think your commute disruption will be less. Also, I would encourage you to buy your tickets/ refill your cards at a time other than the morning rush. The lines were long, and with larger crowds overall, seemed more stressful.
That being said, I was encouraged by the significant numbers of NJ Transit and PATH employees and police offers around helping all commuters navigate through the changes.
Also I spoke to a number of officials including State Senator Bob Gordon, who is the Vice Chair of the Transportation committee, John Leon, Head of Government and Community Relations for NJ Transit, Michael Marino, General Manager of the PATH and a Customer Relations representative (my apologies for not remembering her name) for NY Waterway who were all there for the entire morning observing and trying to gage what changes, if any, need to be made.
Assemblywoman Annette Chaparro was also onsite is monitoring as well. But for now, the extra capacity provided by NJ Transit (about 48 buses), PATH Trains (leaving every 5 minutes) and the NY Waterway (extra Ferry’s to Midtown) seem to be absorbing much of the extra traffic.
Please let me know what your experiences are. Good or bad. In particular what the impact, if any, has been on the 126 bus and the 14th Street Ferry. I will be out tomorrow morning around the north end to check in.
43 and a half more days to go…
Tiffanie Fisher
Hoboken 2nd Ward City Councilwoman
