Hudson-Bergen Light Rail

The time I came here, I didn’t board any train. I saw the train approaching. Each platform has a train indicator.

I hate this train. It is never enough trains, even during rush hours. When they are doing repairs, don’t expect bus service. If there is bus service, it is later than the train. There is always smoking on the platform and no one to monitor it. I stand daily on this train and it is almost as expensive as PATH.

As soon as the weather hits 50 degrees outside, this train turns into a freezer. I don’t know what the drivers are thinking but it’s not fun for us – the poor riders – to get into the train all soaked after an autumn rain and sit there with our wet clothes while the cold air is blasting in our faces. The AC managed to get me sick numerous times. The drivers should have some common sense. Fan – yes. AC – hell no. Is it too much to ask to be a little warm and cozy in the winter? I’m paying to be tortured, I guess.
And don’t even get me started on all those people who think they are in their living rooms and their endless phone conversations that ruin my trip every single day.

(-) costs about the same as PATH and has no transfers between rail and PATH
(-) some stations have had broken indicators for the next train for weeks if not months (Harsimus Cove at least for June/​July 2015) and likely won’t ever get fixed
(-) no way to find real time data on trains, especially for those stops, unless you are bold enough to call the emergency button at the stop (they have a service you can text but it is only for scheduled times not actual times which can differ by 20 – 40 minutes on the weekends, e.g., 7÷11÷15)
(-) ticket machines are confusing since they just «hacked» some bus ticket machines into printing one ticket type (it says you are buying a 1 zone bus ticket on the machine) though at least the ticket stock says light rail
(+) air conditioning
–don’t try to take this on the weekend
–don’t try to take this from any supermarket with perishables since the wait can be excessive and they don’t publish the actual train times (even though they are available to people at the control centers/​stations)
–at least PATH tries a little bit about being on time and their schedule

They need to change the filters in the AC unit. Smells like mold.
Otherwise it’s a decent option to get around (use it to travel between Hoboken and jersey city)

I use the light rail every day, it’s somewhat practical and fulfills my travel needs for the most part… Problem is that when you look up the schedule online, it’s almost always off by a couple of minutes… Just now I walked out of my building at 4:31 to catch the 4:34 train and I watched it pull away. Now I’ll wait for the next train 10 minutes from now… A little frustrating

The Light Rail is a solid way to get around Hudson County (and only Hudson County). It shouldn’t be called the Hudson-​Bergen Light Rail. It doesn’t touch Bergen County. It should 100% be extended to Giants Stadium, and even the GW Bridge. Then it would earn it’s current name. Right now, it goes from the Bayonne Bridge up to NJ Beer Co in North Bergen, with stops in JC, Boken, Weehawken & Union City (all in Hudson County). Make sure you check schedules before you ride, as the trains can e infrequent at times. There is a number that you can Text a specific Station ID for times

This is your typical public transit system, although it’s somewhat atypical as it both runs on time and stops at stop lights. I take it to work daily so the fact that it’s almost always on time is very important. Even when there’s snow on the tracks, the train keeps moving along and gets me where I need to go.
As for safety, I’ve never felt unsafe having my iPhone out. This is NOT true of some of the neighborhoods where the stations are, but I feel like the trains are pretty safe.
Note the random ticket checks, and the monthly is an awesome deal if you’re a commuter. Furthermore the outdoor stations lack heaters so they get mighty chilly in winter.

How do you rate a Light Rail station? Hmm…
I commute through here 5 days a week (6 on occasion). In the beginning I was buying single ride tickets, and it was a hassle to have to stamp at the end of the platforms then try to run to catch the train. The trek to get to the train isn’t much fun either.
The last 10 times I’ve been stopped to check time-​stamps was at this station. It’s super convenient for the transit Po-​Po because you can’t stamp your ticket on the platform and there’s only 1 way out.
But all-​in-​all, its safe and clean… I’ll take it.

Clean public transit that runs on schedule.
I haven’t ridden this system much, when it comes to public transport you’ll usually find me with a NY Metro card in my wallet. But that’s what makes the light rail so pleasant, it’s a lot nicer than the NY subway. Trains ran on time, they were clean, and I didn’t see a homeless guy yelling at himself. That being said, that doesn’t make it perfect. The system the trains move in can be confusing. The stations should really invest in some electronic signs showing what train is where, etc. But I assume that once you’re past that phase, it’s smooth sailing.
Bottom Line: A nice option for public transport if you need it.

What can i say? I’ve seen some stuff on the light rail. Stuff like a girl getting her iPhone snatched out of her hands. A dude throwing up all over the seat at the last stop, kids making fun of my hair, a really scary looking 12 yr old that made me get up out of my seat and move and etc.
But the train is usually on schedule and if I want to go anywhere I have to take it, so for these reasons, you are worth of 4 stars. Thanks for being there, but I wish you had more trains running on the weekends. Thanks!

I use the Richard Street Light Rail station, the pro are it gets me to the Lower East side of Manhattan in 40 min, which is great. The cons, i am not a fan of the Bayonne flyer I think its pure political and a bit racist.
I never take the Rail on the weekends I rather drive. The weekend service is pretty bad, not frequent, and the train is way too small. I usually by the monthly pass because who has time for stamping tickets? Not me.

Jersey! I’m in Jersey crossing two rivers in another state where it is less densely populated.
Hudson-​Bergen Light Rail transports me from the NJ PATH system to my destination at a moderate price for Zone 1 at $ 2.10 one way, which is far lesser than New York’s MTA subways and buses. Self-​serve ticket machines are fully functional and very instructive to follow with a separate machine to validate one way tickets with a date/​time stamp. Service is prompt and trains are functioning. A three car train that enables my travels further to see Jersey in a new light. The screeching sound of Hudson-​Bergen Light Rail’s trains do not resonate an ear deafening noise as New York’s MTA subways.

I must thank the young man who recently sat in back of me for helping me focus my thoughts. I was previously planning a review but I couldn’t quite come up with one since my opinions on the HBLR were contradictory.
Since 1996, I eagerly awaited the creation of the light rail. During construction I lived a few blocks away and was opposed to moving until I got to experience the magic of a train to Bayonne. I haven’t gone to Bayonne as often as I expected. Although I’m an avid transit supporter, I’m distracted by both structural and cultural issues.
Back to the young man. He and his buddy were discussing their graffiti work and those of their colleagues. Shockingly, one of his acquaintances was being sent away for six months, and he railed at the injustice. They had a loud discussion of the girls at their school and which ones they would (have relations with.) Another recent trip featured some passengers running through the car and yelling; at the least the guys who today were standing on seats were quiet.
While I don’t expect any crowd of random strangers to be my best friends, there has been a pattern of more abrasive people on the light rail than on other forms of transportation. The same jerks encountered on a regular train don’t create as much claustrophobia. And at least most subway riders understand the let-‘em-out-first paradigm.
When you take a speedy 2 or 3 train from 42^nd to 72^nd, you know you have it better than the cars. The light rail, by contrast, often creates a feeling that the carless are second-​class citizens (or after 10PM these days, the carless and PATH-​less.) Did anyone notice the illegible schedule boards? How many ticketing machines being out of order is considered acceptable?
I don’t want to be completely negative — so I’ll applaud the basic premise that you can get to the Liberty Science Center, Zeppelin Hall or Bergenline Avenue without a car. I’ll still ride in search of Cuban sandwiches and Filipino food but it would be nice if NJT kept it in better shape to help provide more counter-​arguments to the Cato Institute’s nuke-​mass-​transit rhetoric.

The Hudson-​Bregen Light Rail is by far the best way to get to JC from Hoboken. The trainruns fairly constantly on the weekdays; every 15 minutes or so, but is less frequent on the weekends. The fair is low, and the ride is fast. I use the light rail every week and have grown pretty fond of the trains services. The only faster way to get to JC is to drive and the parking fees and inconveniece of finding parking when I return home offset the option of driving.

I’m lucky enough to get to see the HBLR whoosh its way past my apartment 387 times a day — and when I say whoosh, I mean whooooosh. This is one of the quietest trains I’ve ever had the pleasure of existing close to.
.On the outside at least. When you are on the train itself, it creaks and crackles and makes more weird noises than any train I’ve ever been on. That being said, I’d much rather have the noise inside than out. It does a little horn thing when someone is in the way, but besides that, I rarely hear it.
Among its many other benefits, the HBLR is a convenient way for us back Hobokenites to get to the PATH without suffering a brutally sweaty walk, soaking rain, or a bitterly cold snow. Or to, you know, go other places. I wouldn’t know, I drive everywhere else, this is just a means for me to get to work.
Know this:
The HBLR operates on the honor system most of the time. You can walk on and walk off without having to scan or swipe a ticket of any kind.
But…just buy one. In the grand scheme of things, spending $ 2 and change for a ride is much better than getting a $ 75 ticket for trying to grab a freebie. I ride this every weekday morning and on the four or five occasions they have been checking tickets when you walk off, I see at handful of people getting fines.
They check very randomly — random times, random days, random people. I’ve never been checked anywhere besides Hoboken Terminal, but there may very well be other places they look.
THE HBLR will bring you in and around Jersey City and somewhere called «Tonnelle Avenue» a magical place of which I will likely never visit. I stick to Hoboken, 2^nd, and 9^th street and drive just about everywhere else. If you can’t, this is a good place to take trains and get places.

The light rail is my primary mode of transport from Jersey city to Hoboken. The trains are reliable and for the most part clean. Although, after about midnight they can get a little dirty (it’s not the trains’ fault! They cant help it if drunk people are nasty!)
One weekends, they use the shorter trains with only two cars and those can get really crowded, standing room only! Late at t night the trains also run every 20 – 30 minutes so you could be waiting awhile, but it is much cheaper than a cab home! They also stop running at about 1:30am (depending on where you get on/​off) so be warned!
A lot of newbies get confused about the whole «validating your ticket» thing… Here’s how it works: buy a ticket (or multiple tickets), put one ticket for each person in the time stamper before you get on the train. The timestamp is valid for two hours. If you want to be sneaky, and will be back in less than two hours, technically your ticket is still valid for multiple trips. They don’t often check, but when they do check tickets, it is really embarrassing to be pulled off the train and get a lecture, followed by a hefty fine. Play it safe, buy a ticket, and validate it! They are only $ 2.10 one way!

I CAN’T STAND THE LIGHT RAIL! The bayonne flyer is not always correctly marked, so I miss my station all the time. The ticket purchase touch screen is so slow that there is nothing you can do but to paintfully watch the only train in 15 minutes to come to the station, open its doors, closing them, then moving on leaving you in the dust, this is when your ticket finally prints but of course, it is too late. The ticket validator is also always broken.

A bargain at $ 2.10 each way, the light rail runs just over 20 miles from start to finish with a total of 24 stations that are perhaps a little close together, but that’s just me.
The trains are surprisingly clean and comfortable, perhaps because food and drink are not permitted. And the next station announcements are amazingly clear and totally understandable.
I caught a train this week from Pavonia (behind the Newport Center Mall near Newport PATH station) down to Liberty State Park. A good ride.
You do need to purchase a ticket before boarding and validate it. And then hang on to it. I didn’t see a ticket inspector, but I’m sure that they have them.

The HBLR is a decent public transportation system that extends from North Bergen all the way down to Bayonne. Trains during peak hours come like every 5 – 15 minutes (depending on where you are) so I see a lot of people using it during rush hours. As far as schedules go, they’re pretty accurate with the times. If it says the train will be there at 12:00, I would definitely be there 5 minutes early in case it comes at, say, 11:58 or something like that.
I wish they would extend the light rail to include Edgewater. Without a car, there is no real easy way to go to the shops in Edgewater, and the light rail stops at Tonnelle Avenue which doesn’t really get you anywhere.
I also wish that the light rail extended to better stops — the ones that most people visit for recreational purposes would be Hoboken (its own fair share of shops + PATH train), Newport Jersey City (MALL + PATH), Exchange Place (PATH), and… that’s pretty much it. The rest are mostly residential or office stops.
Also, the light rail can get a bit ghetto fabulous (especially around 8pm-​9pm, ESPECIALLY around the Mall) — people usually leave you alone, but I’ve seen some things like kids throwing eggs on the side of the light rail at the 2^nd Street Light Rail — yeah, the HBLR passes through somewhat unsavory areas (especially at night).
The trains also tend to mess up their destination announcements for some reason — they are frequently out of order. Why?