Readers Letters

Dear Editor,

I first fell in love with public transportation in the summer of 2000 when I moved back to Suffern, NY after college to live with my folks so I could save up some money.  I took the New Jersey Transit to Hoboken and caught the path across to 23rd Street, where I’d walk to my job as a proofreader for Ziff Davis Media.  I spent these 90ish-minute train rides doing my three favorite things: reading, writing, and napping.  It was that practice that eventually led me to my career as an English professor.

On the same note, taking public transit has substantial health benefits when compared with driving; I can see this for myself during my 10-minute walk to Washington, DC’s Metrorail every morning.  It also helps to reduce our carbon footprint with less cars on the road.

I’ll admit I became quite spoiled when I moved to DC and lived a short walk from the Metro. Driving in DC (and in most other urban areas) is quite the hassle; I’ve never been a huge fan of driving or the responsibilities of owning a car, so I’ll take the Metro if it’s a reasonable option.

I visit Rockland County a couple of times a year to visit my Mom and brother, and after too much time spent grinding through the traffic of I-95, I decided that since I view these trips as a vacation, I’ll take my favorite mode of transportation, the train.

My Mom lives a short walk away from the Suffern train station, so when I want to go into New York City or one of the towns along the Main or Bergen County Lines, I’ll walk to the train, buy my ticket, take out my book, and read until I arrive at my destination.  

But not everyone is that fortunate. This applies to people who live and work in Rockland, many of whom can’t drive for a myriad of reasons. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 10% of Rockland County households do not have a car. The public transit system is inadequate at best, which doesn’t serve the need of a large number of people who need a way to travel to work, medical appointments, or other important activities.

New Jersey Transit has a total of five stations in Rockland County, compared to Metro-North’s forty-three in Westchester and thirty-eight in Connecticut, along with 126 on the Long Island Railroad. On weekends, if you want to go from Suffern to Manhattan during the day, you have to time your arrival at the station so you’re not waiting for an hour. 

I haven’t ridden the buses in Rockland, but from my observation, the service is subpar. One Thursday afternoon, I waited for fifteen minutes for a Transport of Rockland (TOR) bus to come to the Artopee Way stop in Nyack for its 1:00 stop. I waited fifteen minutes for what is known as a “ghost bus,” one that never arrives.  I was the only waiting too.  As I walked around the corner, I saw the #59 bus idling near Main Street.  I can’t explain that dynamic, but perhaps someone from TOR might?

Public transportation in the United States pales in comparison to other countries.  For example, Copenhagen’s Metro runs 24/7 and you’re usually not waiting at a stop for more than five minutes.  I wouldn’t expect a suburb like Rockland to make it that frequent, but at the very least, trains should run more than once per hour on a weekend.  And the buses should aim to leave from the terminus when the schedule says it’s supposed to.

Regards,

Craig Wynne