Can we get the Army Corps of Engineers on this? Call Rodney F.'s office and make him do some work for a change.

Is there an actual schedule to the shuttles? Can you park for free at the train stations?

What about restoring service along the M&E line to Hoboken? I see that some lines are now running through Hoboken but M&E isn't.

The problem is no communication by NJ Transit (NJT). Their website just tells us service is suspended "until further notice". They are supposed to run shuttle buses today; but, have provided no schedule as to the time they are arriving at Chatham Train Station. It is typical NJT blunderful management. I hope the bus service arranged with Passaic Valley Coach remains as they are on time, comfortable and get us to NY Penn in 45 minutes- yes-forty-five minutes. It's a ton better than NJT.

We have been hearing the same :story from NJT since the first day following the storm. Its time for a more detail update. Don't provide an estimate - you might be held accountable. If NJT were a publicly traded company, the management would have been fired and the work outsourced.

What about our monthly tickets? Am I the proud owner of an almost $300 bookmark? The total lack of communication is absolutely unacceptable! The Governor's office needs to intervene.

No accessible buses for handicapped at Morristown ? I ride and pay for parking at Denville guess I need to keep getting on gas lines and drive in ?

"Durso said crews are working to restore service along the Morris and Essex line." What does that mean? That tells us nothing. It's almost 2 weeks post storm, and while we understand that damage occurred, it's time to release a plan for and timeframe for restoration. NJT caught flat-footed with it's management clearly not up to the task. Maybe when our Governor is done congratulating Obama on his re-election, he can turn his attention to shaking up the bureaucrats at NJT and getting the M&E back up, which he should remember is ridden on a daily basis by his political base.

So, its a "Midtown Direct" service, and they replace it with ferry service to a remote part of downtown, not near any subways... but Morristown gets busses to Weehawken midtown ferry... makes no sense. Why not run the busses right into port authority??

Not a good news story for a town recently marketed as a “Transit Village”. It is essential that we have better communication & planning in place around our current storm issues and our go forward mass transit infrastructure strategy. If not, we are going to impact our ability to keep current residents / attract potential new residents who are considering living in Morristown when they work / like to go out in NYC. I don’t understand how the town (or is it just “village” now) is not all over this one?

NJ Transit can't do anything right on a sunny day in June. Does anyone really expect them to fare better in the wake of a hurricane? They have a monopoly and therefore zero incentive to provide reliable and courteous service. The very fact that it's been almost two weeks since the storm and they are still refusing to tell us anymore than "service suspended until further notice" is just a shining example of the arrogance they display daily from the brass all the way down the rude and utterly confused conductors. The trains are perpetually late, overcrowded and expensive. But what options do we really have? NJ Transit knows this, and therefore has no concern whatsoever for their riders. Anyone who rides this incompetent, and backwards rail line knows this to be true. It makes you wonder what, if anything, is actually being done to fix the tracks.

Anybody out there use the emergency shuttle From Morristown to Weehawken this morning (then free ferry to 39th street)? If so, how was it? (considering attempting next week).

Thanks Jon- info. much appreciated. I agree, anything has to be better than PABT this week. Good luck on the commute home!

NJ transit's communication has been awful. We need to read between the lines here to understand the implicit message. There are 7 commuter lines going into NYC / Hoboken:
NE Corridor
North Jersey Coast
Raritan Valley
Morris & Essex
Main/Bergen/Port Jervis
Montclair-Boonton
Pasack Valley

They have announced these new bus/ferry services for 4 of these lines:

Northeast Corridor
NJ Coast
Morris and essex
Montclair-Boonton

The implicit message is that the other 3 train lines (Raritan Valley, Main/Berge/Port Jervis and Pascack Valley) will be back in service soon (next week?)
NE corrridor and NJ coast line have had partial service- main issue is crowding.Those will also be restored in a week or so.

The news is not good for the Morris and Esses Line and the Montclair Boonton line. Apparently these lines were very severely damanged and need to be rebuilt. So you are not going to wake up on Monday and read that service has been restored on those lines (or the monday after that, or the following monday after that for that matter). My best guess is that we are looking at a long term construction project for the morris and essex and montclair-boonton lines that is going to take 1-3 months. i.e. these lines will likely not be open until the 1st quarter of 2013.

The other piece of the puzzle is that NJ Transit lost a lot of rail cars and the only factory that makes them is in canada and is on strike!. So that will make recovery even slower.

great. looks like I'll be driving into the city agai and paying $40 for parking.

Maybe JCP&L and NJTRANSIT are having a contest to see who can screw their high paying customers the most. Gov needs to get on NJT next!! We need more monopolies and unions....not!!

Does a anyone know or have a link to info on the $20 shuttle bus from Chatham to NYC - where in NYC? or does it only go to one of the ferries? And will that shuttle bus run on the weekend?

waiting for the eventual song and dance about the forthcoming fare increase to pay for all the damage and lost revenue...

The Passaic Valley Coach bus service is a "go" for Monday, 11/12. 3 buses- one at 6 AM, one at 7AM and one at 7:30AM. The cost is $20 round trip. The buses are comfortable, the ride is smooth and they drop off at 33rd Street & 8th Ave. In the A.M. the 6AM bus gets there at 6:45AM. Tons better than NJT. Evening ride home takes an hour to an hour and 10 minutes depending on traffic volume. If enough people take the Passaic Valley buses, they may consider continuing the service. For me, it's worth the cost because I work in mid-town and being dropped off at Battery Park with the downtown NY subway stations closed due to flood damage, I am going to have to walk to Chambers St. or Brooklyn Bridge to get uptown. NJT might as well drop us off on Ellis Island. All we want of NJT is information as to how long they think the suspension will last. If it's 2 weeks, I'll make a certain set of plans. If it's 2 months, I may make totally different plans. NJT just doesn't get it...and never will.

Good fellow-persons of Chatham... please indulge with me on this question.

I have been out of the office for two weeks now and need to get back into Manhattan somehow! While doing some research, it seems that there is a NJT bus (#70) that will go from River Road (near the new Equinox) to Newark Penn.... and I assume that there might be some trains running from there into NY Penn.

Does this seem worth a try? Does anyone know if rail tickets are being cross-honored?

This is so upsetting, by the way! And... thanks!

Maybe some partial restoration to the Morris/Essex line this week. No good details, but I'll take it as a positive.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/11/more_nj_transit_rail_lines_to.html#incart_river_default

Community Bus leaves from Headquarters Plaza/Morristown and goes into Port Authority - 42nd and 8th. The ride took forever, but I got there!
http://www.coachusa.com/community/

NJ Transit has been laying off workers because the areas of service will be down for a long time. If James Weinstein of NJ Transit won't confirm this, then ask the union leaders.