Study, Riders Agree: Bergen Trains Timelier

Kayla Poole may be new to the area, but she's quickly adapted to the commute to and from New York City. And in keeping with data released by New Jersey Transit and analyzed by The New York Times, she's generally happy with the ride on the Bergen Co./Main Line.

"Maybe one day out of the five days it's late, and that screws me up," said the prekindergarten teacher at Horace Mann School on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. "But for the most part, it's never too serious."

Last year, NJ Transit and New York commuter rails boasted 95 percent efficiency rates. But in a New York Times article, many riders said those statistics didn't reflect their day-to-day experiences. Whatever those discrepancies, Times statistics and rider reactions put the Bergen Co./Main Line above many others.

Transit agencies throughout the metro-New York area released statistics reflecting the overall efficiency of lines, which sometimes masks delays during peak times. The Times' data broke down overall timeliness in addition to morning, afternoon, off-peak and weekend times.

For example, overall on the Montclair line 1 out of every 21 trains fails to arrive within 5 minutes, 59 seconds of the scheduled time. During the morning rush, however, that efficiency plummets to 1 out of every 12. 

Overall, both the Bergen Co. (1 out of every 49) and Main Line (1 out of every 45) perform well, according to the article. That doesn't change significantly during the rush, as both the Bergen (1 out of every 44) and Main Line (1 out of every 42) continue timeliness.

Additionally, express afternoon trains from Ridgewood to Hoboken fail to arrive on time 1 out of every 83 times. The outbound train from Hoboken to Ridgewood, which runs in the afternoon and off-peak times, runs at 1 out of every 61 efficiency with afternoon trains (1 out of every 83) outperforming the off-peak ones (1 out of every 62).  

During the a.m. commute, Bergen Co. line trains (with a 97.8 percent on-time rate) exceed all northern New Jersey contemporaries, except for Pascack Valley (97.9 percent) and Waldwick (98.3 percent). With an overall rate of 98 percent, the Bergen Co. Line is the most efficient in North Jersey.

Poole moved to the area earlier this spring but continued to work at her Manhattan job. In the summer, she relies even more heavily on public transportation, as she travels a greater distance to work.

"Brooklyn is a far commute, and I'm relatively happy with what happens. Maybe once or twice I had to wait six or seven minutes, but [this line] is great," she said.

Even onboard, when delays occur, she said the NJ Transit staff is kind. "I do feel workers and conductors on these trains are accommodating and helpful," she said. "They're apologetic, too, and make jokes if it takes too long."

Anna Miller isn't too concerned about the New York City commute, but she uses the line often. A Suffern resident, Miller frequently visits friends in the area.

"It's not bad at all. Leaving from Suffern going east is fine. It's better than leaving Ridgewood going west. Sometimes what happens down the line slows it a bit, but there's never any serious delays," she said. 

She could only chat a few minutes as her train westward punctually picked her up. 

A Mahwah male—who commutes to Saddle Brook daily but did not want to give his name—said he rarely had problems.

"There's a few minutes wait here or there, but really it's generally good," he said.

To read the entire New York Times article, click here.