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How to get from NYC to Bayonne?


kj_connections

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I used to live in Bayonne and live in Jersey City (which is the next town north of Bayonne), and am familiar with transit in the area, so here goes:

 

To get to the actual port terminal you will need to be either in a car, taxi, or shuttle of some sort, there's no regular transit service or pedestrian access to the port property itself in Bayonne.

 

HOWEVER, you CAN take mass transit to get within a couple blocks of the front gates to the port, and then call a cab, if your goal is to save $$$.

 

If you want to do that, the most direct way to get to Bayonne would be to go to the Port Authority Bus Terminal and take the Coach USA (Red and Tan in Hudson County) 10 or 99s bus from Gate 414 to Bayonne. This is a local transit bus, not a motorcoach, so be aware of that if you have luggage. The bus costs $4 (in cash, single bills or coins, paid into the farebox on the bus), and takes about an hour. You would want to take the bus to 34th street in Bayonne, get off the bus, and then call the cab (the bus stop is on JF Kennedy Boulevard at 34th Street, if you need to tell the cab co. where you are). From there it's about 3-4 blocks to the port entrance and then another mile on port grounds. I THINK the cab fare within Bayonne to the cruise terminal is $8 (I used to live there and saw it posted in taxis).

 

Another option would be to take the PATH Subway train from any of the PATH stations in Manhattan to either Exchange Place or Hoboken stations in NJ, and then take the NJ Transit Hudson-Bergen Light Rail to 34th Street Station in Bayonne, and then call a taxi from the light rail station (which is directly across Route 440 from the port grounds). The rail option requires a transfer, but there's more space on board than on the bus (unless you're going TO the port during the PM rush hour which is unlikely). The cost of the PATH is $1.75 per person, and the light rail is $1.90 per person. For PATH, you buy a MetroCard or PATH ticket from a machine at the station and go through a turnstile. For the Light Rail, you buy tickets from vending machine before entering the platform, AND THEN STICK IT INTO THE ORANGE VALIDATOR to timstamp it as valid, then have the ticket ready for inspection if inspectors or police board to check tickets.

 

I forget the numbers for cabs in Bayonne, but I think one of the companies was called Campbell's Taxi. You should look that up (or post in the thread that a current Bayonne resident has going on this board).

 

10/99s bus info is on the http://www.coachusa.com website (on the "scheduled services" menu at the left select a trip from New York, NY to Bayonne, NJ and it will load). PATH Subway info is on http://www.panynj.gov/path and light rail info is on http://www.njtransit.com .

 

Hope this helps!

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Thank you! That is extremely helpful. Looks like the coachusa option is easier without any transfers. Since it is a 5-day cruise I won't have much luggage. Can you describe what those buses look like so I know what to look for?

 

Thanks

 

If you go into Port Authority Bus Terminal, and follow the signs to gate 414, pretty much any bus that leaves from that gate goes to Bayonne.

 

That said, your bus should look like this:

 

(There's a small chance the bus might be an older model that looks boxier, but has the same paint job).

 

You may want to sit at one of the bench seats towards the rear of the bus, if possible -- more space to hold the luggage you do bring than the regular pairs of seats and easier to keep out of the way of other passengers, as the 10 bus sees heavy ridership turnover along the route (people constantly getting on and off). The trip is about 45 minutes (in light traffic) to an hour (more likely an hour during the day); you know you're getting close when you enter Bayonne and the streets are numbered (starting at 63rd Street and working your way down). 34th Street is closest to the cruise port drivingwise for a cab.

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I'd recommend that you seriously consider Path and the Light Rail. There is an elevator entrance to Path at 33rd St - I can find where it is for you. Once in the station you take the Hoboken train. There are escalators in Hoboken and the light rail station is very close. You can wheel your luggage directly on to both Path and the light rail and there will be ample room for it. If you're not really familiar with Port Authority, you will have to find the correct elevator or go up several sets of escalators to find the platform. The buses are not luggage friendly - you will not enjoy the ride at the back of the bus with your luggage and you will not enjoy getting your luggage down the narrow aisle. Also, Path and the light rail run more frequently.

 

What day of the week would you be doing this

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I'd recommend that you seriously consider Path and the Light Rail. There is an elevator entrance to Path at 33rd St - I can find where it is for you. Once in the station you take the Hoboken train. There are escalators in Hoboken and the light rail station is very close. You can wheel your luggage directly on to both Path and the light rail and there will be ample room for it. If you're not really familiar with Port Authority, you will have to find the correct elevator or go up several sets of escalators to find the platform. The buses are not luggage friendly - you will not enjoy the ride at the back of the bus with your luggage and you will not enjoy getting your luggage down the narrow aisle. Also, Path and the light rail run more frequently.

 

What day of the week would you be doing this

 

138east brings up a couple good points -- PATH/light rail run more frequently and have more space on board for baggage but requires another transfer and figuring out two sets of ticket machines (plus the validator for the light rail) which can be more confusing to a non-regular user. The Port Authority Bus Terminal can look intimidating because it's so big (a bus station that's almost like an airport terminal), but if you pay attention to the signage overhead ("To 400 Gates" or "To Gates 401-425" and then look for Gate 414) you should be able to get to the gate without a problem (I do it all the time as it's one of my "home" bus routes here in JC, but I point it out to friends from out of town when they're staying with us).

 

I think the bus and rail/rail transfer methods have their pluses and minuses--I'd recommend the bus if the weather is good and the rail/rail option if it's raining, as the 34th Street Light Rail station has canopied areas in case of rain for waiting for the taxi.

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I'd recommend that you seriously consider Path and the Light Rail. There is an elevator entrance to Path at 33rd St - I can find where it is for you. Once in the station you take the Hoboken train. There are escalators in Hoboken and the light rail station is very close. You can wheel your luggage directly on to both Path and the light rail and there will be ample room for it. If you're not really familiar with Port Authority, you will have to find the correct elevator or go up several sets of escalators to find the platform. The buses are not luggage friendly - you will not enjoy the ride at the back of the bus with your luggage and you will not enjoy getting your luggage down the narrow aisle. Also, Path and the light rail run more frequently.

 

What day of the week would you be doing this

 

I would be doing this on a Saturday (to Bayonne) and Thursday (to NYC).

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On Saturdays the bus runs once an hour at 20 past. On a Thursday morning it will run more frequently, but if you self disembark, you will hit the end of the rush hour through local streets in Bayonne and Jersey City.

 

On Saturdays Path will run every 15 minutes until 10:15 am and then every 10 minutes. The light rail runs every 20 minutes. On a weekday morning you may do better on the light rail and Path getting back into Manhattan - no local street or tunnel traffic issues. 34th St is the 2nd station, so you will probably be able to get a seat. Hoboken Path will be the 1st station, so you can always wait to get a seat.

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I'd recommend that you seriously consider Path and the Light Rail. There is an elevator entrance to Path at 33rd St - I can find where it is for you. Once in the station you take the Hoboken train. There are escalators in Hoboken and the light rail station is very close. You can wheel your luggage directly on to both Path and the light rail and there will be ample room for it. If you're not really familiar with Port Authority, you will have to find the correct elevator or go up several sets of escalators to find the platform. The buses are not luggage friendly - you will not enjoy the ride at the back of the bus with your luggage and you will not enjoy getting your luggage down the narrow aisle. Also, Path and the light rail run more frequently.

I agree 100%. I use the PATH train & the Light Rail all the time; I wouldn't consider taking the bus from NYC to Bayonne, especially with luggage. This is just my personal preference, but I do think the PATH-Light Rail method is quicker, easier, & more pleasant than the bus--not to mention, as 138east already has, that PATH & Light Rail trains run much more frequently than the bus.

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Path and light rail would be my personal preference also. I used to ride the bus occasionally to my mother-in-law's in West New York and it was awful even though it was a short ride. I also used to commute on Path and it was fine. I can't imagine an hour's local bus ride from PA to Bayonne with luggage! IMO buying tickets in Port Authority and finding the platform is much worse than dealing with two ticket machines in rail stations.

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IMO buying tickets in Port Authority and finding the platform is much worse than dealing with two ticket machines in rail stations.

 

FYI, if you do take the bus, there is no ticket to buy for the 10/99s to Bayonne, just pay cash into the farebox (other Coach USA routes require tickets but not the 10 or 99s).

 

That said, either bus or rail/rail is an option...good luck!

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  • 4 weeks later...
On Saturdays the bus runs once an hour at 20 past. On a Thursday morning it will run more frequently, but if you self disembark, you will hit the end of the rush hour through local streets in Bayonne and Jersey City.

 

On Saturdays Path will run every 15 minutes until 10:15 am and then every 10 minutes. The light rail runs every 20 minutes. On a weekday morning you may do better on the light rail and Path getting back into Manhattan - no local street or tunnel traffic issues. 34th St is the 2nd station, so you will probably be able to get a seat. Hoboken Path will be the 1st station, so you can always wait to get a seat.

 

So it sounds like the bus option is approx 1 hour. How long will the Path-light rail option take?

 

Also, I was interested in visiting Carlo's Bakery which happens to be in Hoboken! How can I do that on my way from NYC to Bayonne?

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The light rail should take about an hour depending on the connections. It appears from the map that Carlo's is about 7 blocks from the Hoboken Terminal. Coming from NY you would take Path to Hoboken and walk to Carlo's. You would then walk back to the light rail. Don't know if you want to walk 7 blocks with luggage. I'm sure you can get a cab to Carlo's, but you'd have to get the names of some Hoboken taxis to call for the return trip. Don't know if there is any local bus service that would take you the 7 blocks.

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So it sounds like the bus option is approx 1 hour. How long will the Path-light rail option take?

 

Also, I was interested in visiting Carlo's Bakery which happens to be in Hoboken! How can I do that on my way from NYC to Bayonne?

 

It's probably less than 7 blocks....I've been there...maybe 4 or so.....(well worth it...but not if you have lots of crap!)

 

There IS a taxi line right at the Hoboken terminal so you could walk back and hop a cab......There is also a dunkin donuts diagonally across from the PATh station in Hoboken (and opposite the cab line..) it's small and kind of blends in..BUT if it was you and someone else, perhaps one could wait at DD with a cuppa java while the other goes to Carlos. Be advised though that, due to the success of "cake boss' the line can get longish (but I've never waited more that about 5-10 minutes...it's worth it the cannoli are the best ever!)

 

Its such a cool, real old fashioned neighborhood bakery....yummmmy! We used to have them all over in Trenton but most have left....

 

When you come out walk UP River Street to 1st, turn left..walk to Washington, turn left and it's about 1/2 way down the block....

 

For the DD....(if someone wants to wait with your stuff)...cross the street in front of the terminal, turn left and it's eh, a block or less-ish on teh right IIRC.

 

You will see the cab line on your left as you exit the station (and you want to exit AWAY from the river)

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  • 2 months later...
Is it possible to walk from the E. 34th Street Light Rail station to the cruise port?

 

The light rail station is directly across the street (Rt 440) from the entrance to the peninsula upon which the cruise port is located, but you are not permitted to enter the peninsula grounds on foot. If you take the light rail, you must call a taxi to take you from the station to the cruise terminal itself, which is a mile or two from the entrance to the peninsula.

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The Bayonne taxi rate is $8 plus tip. Honestly, I don't know how the crew members get back to the ship. There have been rumors of a shuttle from the shopping center across the street, but no one has reported on that.

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Just a crazy idea, but I bet you could hitchhike into the terminal if you were so inclined. Also, the rules say you aren't supposed to walk in (How do folks get to the 911 Memorial????), but I haven't seen anyone who would stop you. I've seen folks walking out of the port with luggage.

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Just a crazy idea, but I bet you could hitchhike into the terminal if you were so inclined. Also, the rules say you aren't supposed to walk in (How do folks get to the 911 Memorial????), but I haven't seen anyone who would stop you. I've seen folks walking out of the port with luggage.

 

I've made inquiry there, and was told that people are not permitted to visit the 9/11 Memorial unless they hire a taxi for the visit. There had been a police officer at the entrance to the peninsula to enforce the taxicab rule, I've seen the rule enforced, and I assume that the situation continues to this day.

 

The more difficult situation--from the perspective of the City--is enforcing the rule for people alighting from a vessel and wanting to walk out. While I don't claim to have great facility with New Jersey law, I would suspect that forbidding (or demanding a payment for) a person to leave the port would constitute false imprisonment. N.J.S.A. 2C:13-3. Consider a person who refuses to pay for a taxi out of the port . . . what could be done? Provide a free ride to the gate? Force the individual to remain there indefinitely, sans food and shelter? Arrest the individual for the failure to purchase a mandated service from a private company?

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Just a crazy idea, but I bet you could hitchhike into the terminal if you were so inclined. Also, the rules say you aren't supposed to walk in (How do folks get to the 911 Memorial????), but I haven't seen anyone who would stop you. I've seen folks walking out of the port with luggage.

 

You drive almost all the way to the parking/drop off, then cut over in this little driveway that takes you right next to where the ship is (actually where the vendors park, etc..) they check the trunks (i did this a couple weeks ago..)

 

It is a TWO MILE walk to the check in terminal...PART of it, in front of the condos is sidewalk, but it is only about 2 blocks worth, and this was just recently done, FOR the peeps in the condos to sit and stare at the golf course.

You cannot walk

 

There is a crew shuttle, but it is crew only (believe me, i tried, even with knowing the people with lots of stripes....no go)....

 

A cab IS 8 bucks and you really should prearrange a time....they get super busy, sometimes (only in bad weather-ie snow) one of the companies isn't running...and they tend to jam pack people into them anyway. I have on occasion been picked up at the grocery store by a cab with others inside that are going elsewhere...cabs do NOT wait...

 

And when i went to get my luggage I saw people who wanted to walk over being told no by the bayonne police....

 

That said, i have seen people do it, but really it is NOT an easy walk, the roadway is horrible and the traffic (even in stop and go, there are still people who will try to race around and cut in) is horrible....you'd be road kill. I would arrange for a cab to meet you at the light rail

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