(The following article by Joe Mailinconico was posted on the Newark Star-Ledger website on August 10.)
NEWARK, N.J. — For commuters who are going to be sidetracked by the rerouting of Midtown Direct trains during the Republican National Convention later this month, transit officials offered some consolation.
Passengers with NJ Transit rail tickets to New York will be able to switch to PATH trains free of charge, a practice transportation officials call “cross-honoring.”
But details of the cross-honoring plan have some commuters fretting, especially because there are restrictions riders say will steer them right smack in the middle of what may be a Midtown mob scene.
Under the cross-honoring plan, NJ Transit commuters heading home in the evenings will be able to use their tickets to board PATH trains only at the 33rd Street and World Trade Center stations. Folks looking to avoid potential chaos near the convention site will have to pay an extra fare of $1.50 if they want to board PATH trains at the 23rd Street or 14th Street stations.
Here’s what makes things messy: The entrance to the 33rd Street PATH station is on 32nd Street and Sixth Avenue, a block from New York Penn Station.
“What this means is that people who are trying to get in and out of Penn (Station) … as well as everyone who is on a diverted Midtown Direct train, as well as regular 33rd Street PATH users will all be at the same intersection,” rail commuter Nancy Farrell said. “I can’t think of a worse plan.”
“I’d expect that the area in front of PATH (at 32nd Street) will be full of people,” said Joe Grossman, another Midtown Direct commuter. “I would hope and expect that PATH would cross-honor NJ Transit tickets at any Manhattan station. After all, it’s in everyone’s best interests to keep people away from the 33rd Street zone.”
The diversion of about 100 Midtown Direct trains to Hoboken Terminal is part of a plan to ease congestion at New York Penn Station during the convention, which is being held from Aug. 30 to Sept. 2 at Madison Square Garden, which is just above Penn Station.
Transportation officials said their cross-honoring plan is designed to accommodate the bulk of the riders whose Midtown Direct trains normally terminate or originate at New York Penn Station.
“Most of our customers are going to or coming from the area around 33rd Street,” said NJ Transit spokesman Dan Stessel, explaining the limitations on the cross-honoring.
But there seems to be two groups of Midtown Direct commuters who would prefer not to have to take the PATH from 33rd Street during the convention.
First, there are those who catch subways at 33rd Street to get to work. They say that during the convention, the PATH station at 14th Street would be a better option for subway connections.
“I really do want to avoid the 33rd Street area,” said Kathy Hamm, a Midtown Direct rider.
The second group consists of people who work a few blocks south of 33rd Street. They say they would prefer walking down to the 23rd Street station rather than trying to make their way through the streets near the convention.
“It seems they are not equipped, either from a strategic or a personnel standpoint, to effect that obvious accommodation,” said Richard Dubusc, a Midtown Direct commuter whose office is at 23rd Street and Madison Avenue.
In addition to the PATH trains, NJ Transit also has worked out a cross-honoring arrangement with NY Waterway for ferry service between Hoboken Terminal and Pier 11 and the World Financial Center. NJ Transit would reimburse both the PATH system and NY Waterway for any Midtown Direct riders who use the free transfers during convention week.
Commuters’ complaints about the cross-honoring system pretty much focus on the trip back from New York. In the mornings, the tickets will be checked at Hoboken and riders will be able to get off the trains at any station in New York they choose.
But during the return trips, the cross-honoring will be in effect only at some stations. Normally, all PATH riders must pass through turnstiles after swiping fare cards or paying a cash fare. Cross-honoring requires transit officials to put workers at entrance gates who would check the tickets of Midtown riders using the PATH system.
Officials said they would consider making changes in the plans for return trip cross-honoring, depending on the response from passengers.
“If we hear from enough customers that there’s interest in cross-honoring at more stations, then we’ll work with PATH to see if that’s possible,” Stessel said.
“While we have our plan in place, we’re always prepared to make adjustments if conditions warrant it,” said Pasquale DiFulco, a spokesman for PATH.