Trans-Bridge Lines

Transbridge Lines doesn’t care about customer service. Just look at their website to start with. Want to find out if a bus is canceled? Oh just click randomly 30 to 40 times and say a few Hail Marys maybe call the number of your local bus stop and you still won’t find any information. Did you know that you can’t use a round trip ticket as two one ways? ME NIETHER. Want a refund for that round trip you JUST bought but found out you was illegal to use? Oh that’s easy, just mail it to a random office in another state and wait a few months but if it doesn’t come then it’s not company policy to garuntee refund. You will be given many conflicting policies by ticket both versus bus drivers. Never never never ride on holidays. God help you.

A classic example of a horrible service that couldn’t care less about its customers.
The online schedule is hard to read, and there have been many times when the buses simply haven’t shown up.
Drivers are often poorly trained – they often wait inside the bus without letting the line of people waiting outside know which bus it is and then abruptly drive away and leave everyone behind.
Definitely choose Bieber or other services over Transbridge. It is much more reliable, never had a problem with them. They also make far fewer stops – much more friendly for long-​distance travelers.
AVOID TRANSBRIDGE AT ALL COSTS!!!

If your bus is at 2, don’t show up until 2:30. You’ll still be incredibly early. Things are slow in these small towns and Transbridge is no difference. Don’t show up on time. Don’t expect a seat. Lower your expectations inorder to not get angry over the ripoff of a ticket… Because their office is never open. Because they suck.

Consistent failure to match rider volume with adequate buses. A (15 minute late) bus at the end of the Thanksgiving weekend arrived already at seated capacity, with standing room only. Currently standing on the highway, since they could not let us know whether the NEXT bus might have seats. This is the second time I’ve had to stand in recent months, and my 62 year old mother also has had to do so twice. Shameful at any price, but certainly when paying nearly $ 50 for a round trip between Port Authority and Easton.

This is the worst most unprofessional business in nyc and maybe the world. Schedules mean nothing. I was waiting in the hot sun for a 3pm bus. Nowhere to go to get out of the sun. At 3:20 I called the company. I was told «oh the driver called in sick so we canceled that bus.» This is typical of many experiences. It is a monopoly as there is no other way to get to the destination I need. I am seriously thinking of just spending the money and renting a car in the future. I wish the rating has a minus star column. The worst.

I wanted to make sure I updated this review as quickly as possible. Bill called me within two days of my review, and was very apologetic. He was very friendly throughout the process, and apologized for letting this fall through the cracks. He provided us with the complimentary tickets he had discussed, and made sure they were there next day. The whole time he was very understanding, and I felt appreciated. After this experience, I would definitely take Trans-​Bridge again.

This is absolutely the worst mode of transportation to and from New York City. Unfortunately my family lives in Clinton and this company has a monopoly on weekend commuting. Not only do they overcharge for their «service» but they advertise wifi and seats, both of which are nearly non-​existent.
How can a bus company not have seats? Well they take your ticket and punch it, and you get on the bus and walk to the back to find no seats left and they close the door before you can say anything and so you are stuck standing… or you ask for the ticket back in which thy oblige and when you go to use it the next time they advise that since it’s clipped it is no longer valid.
Not to mention the ticket stations have wonky hours and if you end up missing it you are forced to pay the bus driver MORE than what the ticket is worth and 99% of the time have no change.
It is worth driving out of the way to take njtransit! Consider yourself warned.

I use this bus regularly to return to New York City from visiting family. This is the worst bus line I have ever used in my life. To full express the gravity of this comment let me be clear — I travel often, 17 countries in the last year alone, all on public transportation.
The transbridge bus line is extraordinarily late, inexcusably crowded, and significantly overpriced (other public transportation options cost $ 15). The only benefit is supposedly regular departures (that is, if buses actually operated on schedule) and a shorter travel time (once on the bus) than other public transportation options in the area.
I have had two separate but especially horrid experiences that prompted me to write this review. In the first experience, the bus I was waiting for was about 10 minutes late. By this time there was a line of roughly 15 – 20 people waiting, I was in the first 5. The driver said there wouldn’t be enough room for everyone — a reasonable statement considering the number of people waiting. I begrudgingly paid my $ 25 cash fare And boarded the bus to find that by «room» the driver meant STANDING ROOM not a seat. This is not the kind of bus that has standing room, there are no hand loops or poles to hold — it’s a coach filed with seats with a thin (roughly 1 foot across) aisle. I agreed to stand for the trip because I my trip to New York was time sensitive, I had already paid, and by the time I realized I would be standing I was already all the way at the back of the bus packed into the rear of the aisle by other suckers, I mean passengers, unlucky enough to occupy the isle ahead of me. It occurred to me during he journey that this practice seemed questionably legal, particularly since the driver was taking cash fares and not giving change. I suspect that he was pocketing the cash from the isle passengers. since it was above the capacity of the bus there would be no suspicion by the company.
In The second experience the bus was 42 min late on a clear, sunny, ice free, traffic free Sunday afternoon (the bus ride is only 70 min long so that’s HUGELY late with no justifiable excuse of inclement weather or traffic) When I called the company to inquire they told me that the driver had skipped and earlier stop and had to turn around. What? How is that even possible? And skipped another stop by 20+ minutes? This sounds like an absolute lie to me. Again, there was a line of 15 – 20 people. This time I had planned ahead and was first in line and was able to get a seat. However, this bus driver only let on as many people as available seats, leaving well over half the line to wait for the next bus an hour later. This proved my past suspicions about standing room corruption correct.
Like other reviewers, I find it inconceivable transbridge bus lines has not realized how poor their product is. In fact, I assert they know exactly how terrible every aspect of their companies performance is but choose not to address it because of the lack of competition and surplus of demand. From their perspective, why fix what isn’t broken? People line up for hours to overpay for their subpar service.
If you have any other option at all, do not take this bus. It is better to plan ahead and take a train from highbridge, Gladstone, or Morristown. It is even cheaper and faster to pay or convince a friend or family member to drive you to the path train (approximately 50 min by car from Clinton park and ride) where you can enter NYC for $ 2.50. Unfortunately, sometimes there is no other option. If you find yourself in this situation, as I did today, I wish you the best of luck.

The Transbridge Bus Line is an awful experience on a regular basis. I have used this line for over 10 years and it has consistently been awful and never improves. Between the constant delays of waiting for the bus at Clinton when traffic is moving and there are seem to be no accidents to nasty drivers all the time, to having to stand because they can’t understand the demand on weekends and weekdays, it is a nightmare. On top of that how many years worth of complaints does one company have to get over their lack of parking for daily commuters for them to do anything with the town to improve it. If you are not there by 6:15AM forget about getting a spot. This has become a popular area of people to commute from, we are keeping you in business, even when your service is awful. We don’t all have the ability to have someone drop us off. What does it take for you to do something about this? Seems like a change in management and pr person is needed. All they do is say nothing can be done. Seems like they just don’t want to bother.

Have tried this bus several times to get home and the only consistent thing is that it is pretty inconsistent. For example: Round trip this weekend to visit family. We were an hour late getting to my destination (no real traffic the entire time so I’m not sure what happened) and on the way back into the city I sat on the floor because the bus was full. At the very least the driver was very nice. Wish it were more reliable on the regular.

I’ve been taking this bus for over five years and I honestly can’t remember the last time it left on time. I’m writing this review as the bus that I was supposed to take was 25 minutes late and overloaded (a common issue). The new bus that they sent has now been sitting here for an hour so that we can pick up passengers for a bus that’s scheduled an hour after ours was supposed to leave. I guess I should be thankful to have a seat considering most of the time, you have to stand the entire ride back to the city (and still pay the absurdly expensive fare) because somehow they still haven’t figured out how many people actually use the bus.

Pls read this bs saga stuff! Will NEVER use those CHEAP UNDEPENDABLE people again!
Dear ***
Thank you for your email. We strive to adhere to our scheduled times of departure and arrival, however, we occasionally experience delays, as the result of factors that are beyond our control, such as inclement weather and traffic. On days such as Monday and Wednesday, when the weather is especially inclement, we ask that our passengers please be patient and expect delays. On these days, our managers and dispatchers make the most logical decisions regarding cancelling or combining runs while accommodating all passengers, to the best of their ability.
On Monday and Wednesday, we made the decision to cancel Run #24, which departs the PABT at 7:30 p.m. due to inclement weather and passenger counts.
Due to the icy road conditions yesterday morning in the Lehigh Valley and surrounding areas, such as Doylestown, PA and I-​78 in New Jersey, we were forced to suspend services. The roads were not just wet, but covered in ice in most areas. The safety of our passengers and our employees is our main priority. Once the roads were clear enough and safe to travel, services were reinstated.
We apologize for the inconvenience these delays and cancellations may have caused you. For your information, in the event of weather related delays or cancelations, we always ask that our passengers check the homepage of our website at
and/​or call our main phone line at 610−868−6001 and listen for the prompt which gives our callers bus service updates. These are the most up-​to-​date sources for service status.
Regarding Run #15 this morning, unfortunately our buses occasionally experience mechanical issues that we cannot predict will occur in advance prior to a given run. All of our drivers perform pre-​trip safety inspections of their assigned buses prior to departing on their runs, in our effort to provide the safest and most reliable bus service possible. Our driver communicated this issue to our dispatchers and it was responded to in a very timely manner. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Please keep in mind that our one-​way tickets and round-​trip tickets are valid and refundable for 6 months from the date of purchase.
Thank you for your understanding
Sincerely,
Amanda Bakelaar
Public Relations & Marketing Coordinator
Trans-​Bridge Lines, Inc.
From: ****
Sent: Thursday, February 06, 2014 8:15 AM
To:
Subject: VERY poor service! Femington-​NYC
I am not sure what has changed in your company but it seems that the service is going down the drain.
I understand that the weather conditions can be a factor but seriously you need to reconsider your service.
I am commuting to NYC for 8 days from Flemington, NJ Feb 1 – 8 and buying my tickets in advance.
On Feb 3^rd you were late for the 8 am because of the storm but to cancel the 730 pm bus coming back while it’s just sitting there is very BAD business! If you are not running a 7:30 take it off your schedule altogether. I was running to catch that bust for 10 blocks! ticket #4 318 938. Then yesterday feb 5^th you suspend services while the roads were just wet and not icy and I had to drive to hamilton train station to get to NYC. Now today I am writing you while on the 8 am bus which I was excited it was here on time but no! The bus has a pressure problem and we have to wait for another bus to rescue us! SERIOUSLY? ticket #4 318 935
I know things do happen but am not used to this service from you based on my past experience.
I recommend you seriously look into what’s going on internally and if you still would like our business you may need to do something to rectify this.
Best;
****

I usually drive from New Hope to Hamilton and take the NJ Transit train when I’m going to NYC. The reason I typically avoid the bus is the schedule coming home, if I’m seeing a show in the evening the last bus leaves NYC before the show is over. Recently I was meeting a friend in the city for lunch and planned to return early. Even though Transbridge is more expensive than NJ Transit I decided to give it a try since the bus stop is a mile from my house. We have snow the previous day so I expected the bus to be running late but thought there would be something to indicate how late. When the bus runs late there is noting to inform passengers waiting outside in the cold how far behind schedule they are. It would be easy enough to have drivers call into the office who could call the stops the buś is going to and let them know when to expect the bus. When the bus was 30 minutes late, and I had no idea what time it might arrive and hearing from other passengers waiting in the cold the bus was an hour and a half late the day before I gave up and drove to Hamilton. Even leaving Hope 30 minutes after I was supposed to be on the bus and taking the time to drive to the train station, park and get my ticket I arrived in NYC only 30 minutes later than the bus was scheduled to arrive, and the train is less expensive. I have no idea if or when the bus ever got to NYC but am certain in spite of planning my trip based on their schedule I would have arrived in the city too late for lunch. I am sending my tickets back for a refund, which according to the website has a handling fee and states the way they calculate it sometimes no refund is due. I learned my lesson, take the train.

I am regular commuter to NYC. Average transit experience in general but don’t feel the value is worth the cost of Transbridge. Wifi is big plus but drivers are typically clueless and driving skills often suspect. Reliability also seems to be suffering lately as they don’t have enough drivers. This leads to buses that never show up or are delayed or combined with other runs. Breakdowns seem more frequent than they should and don’t expect an apology or any reduced fares in that event. At port authority make sure you repeat two or three times where you are going to the driver– some stops are optional and I have had drivers blow past my stop and claim they were never told. Drivers are often zoned-​out after spending God-​knows how many hours just waiting around the city for the return run. Would be great if there were some more alternatives for commuters from western Jersey and PA– another smaller bus line would probably clean up by offering a downtown service to compete with Transbridge. Here’s to wishful thinking.

I literally have not had a worse logistical bus experience. Was going to see a friend in allentown. Not only is it difficult to find the ticket booth (it’s the tiny font under «NJ transit»), but finding the correct gate was unreal. I went from one gate that was confirmed the right gate by the regular, daily customers (because I couldn’t find a staff member), to another gate because when I started boarding they told me it wasn’t stopping at my stop. I did this another time then finally made the correct line. It seems that they change the gates often. Can’t imagine where I would have ended up if I didn’t ask a million people along the way.
So tip: get there early, ask a bunch of sources for the correct route and stop.

I’ve been using this bus line to get home during breaks since I started college. They are one of the best bus services I know of. They almost always get you to your destination on time, with only a very small occurrence of being late. Whenever that happens, it is usually not the driver’s fault. The drivers tend to be very nice guys. The general exception to this is on the last few runs of the evening, but given what they have to put up with, being cranky is quite forgivable. The buses themselves are very well maintained and very clean.
All in all, quite possibly the best bus line I’ve ever been on.

Short Version: They get you there on time!
Long Version: I had never used this service before and they did the job I payed them for; they got me from New Jersey to New York and back, on time, and safely. The bus was in great shape, the driver was professional, and the nice part of it was how quiet and respectful everyone was to each other on the bus, except for that college-​aged woman who sat behind me on the way back, kicking my seat and oblivious to it while listening to her MP3 player. But that’s okay, she was a tourist, that must be normal where she’s from. Beside that, it was a great ride. A little pricier than I would have expected, but if that means that I’ll be safer, then I’ll pay the price.