Years ago I knew someone who commuted daily to NYC from Haddonfield.
Looking at Job options that might include the greater NYC area. I know I can drive to Hamitlon and train it into Penn Station, but looking to see if anyone took any alternative methods up there.
I know it's a little but dependent on exactly where in NYC one needs to arrive, but the more options I have to consider, the better.
I commuted from Collingswood to Manhattan every day for 3 months in 2019. Route was PATCO -> MFL -> Amtrak and then walked to my office on 23rd St. I knew it wasn't permanent so easier to power through than it would have been otherwise and my employer paid for an Amtrak monthly pass.
Could I have done it forever? No way. 1-2 times per week? Yeah
I recorded all the morning commute times in a chart door-to-door.
https://observablehq.com/@bengarvey/commute-times-collingswood-nyc/2
This is really cool! And assuming this is account for both to and from, it’s honestly not terrible. I go to KOP sometimes for work and that is an hour each way on a good day from Cherry Hill, but if I leave at normal commute hours it’s 1.5 and it is pure driving where I don’t get that time to read, check my phone, close my eyes. It looks like your commutes were coming in at roughly 155-160 minutes total so less than 1.5 hours each way and you get that time to do as you please
It's only the mornings because they were almost always the same time/trains, whereas I varied a lot in the evening. And this includes a 10 minute walk to the PATCO station and around a 15 minute walk in NYC.
Oh so if you were to account for full commuting time for the day are we looking at probably 4 hours total+ for the day?
Easily. But 0% of it was spent driving and a good amount walking and waiting for trains.
I did it for a couple of years from Camden County. At the time Amtrak had a monthly pass available for trips on unreserved trains between Philly and NYC. Not sure if they still offer that monthly ticket, but I would drive into 30th Street, catch a train around 7, arrive in NY a little before 9 and then catch a train back around 5. Doable, but brutal if done daily. Can't say I'd recommend it long term.
Thanks, I'll look into that. Probably better than trying NJ transit.
I'm hoping it's not an everyday thing, but there are way more jobs in my field in the NYC area that are more interesting and better paying.
You say "NYC area". All of the responses here seem to assume that you're going to working near Penn station. If you're working somewhere else in the city, or even outside of the city, it could be way different. You could be looking at another 45 minutes+ after getting into the city just to get to your place of employment.
Yeh I use to commute to the upper east side and it was 20-30 min or walking and subway transfers after you got to Penn station via train
Yeah, that's kind of why I asked. I was trying to see what other commutes are out there, because I know Midtown Manhattan is even different than Wall Street, much less something like Brooklyn. I'm trying to estimate a reasonable area where I could consider looking for work, or simply know it would be too much before I start.
There is a bus from mt laurel I believe. If you are close to patco or nj transit you could go into Philly and take Amtrak to 30th. For better or worse, I think Hamilton is probably the right choice for regular commuting which is a shame because I think easier access to NYC jobs would help with a lot of economic opportunities for south Jersey residents but the best way to get there still requires like a half hour drive to the train depending where you are.
Theres a bolt bus that picks up on route 38 as well, but it stops early (6 or 7pm i think) I stopped taking the bus because of it and train it in from Hamilton or Trenton.
Yeah you’re right, 38. I’ve seen it going past the Cherry hill mall
Bolt bus has actually been out of business for around 5 years. Whoever took over the compnay under a new name does not have a Cherry Hill stop anymore. Sad because it was a great way to get to NYC.
I think it was true there wasn't a bus stopping there for a period of time but there is now. It's a Flix bus and it does stop at the Cherry Hill Mall. My sister just used it a month ago to visit from NY. The pick up is apparently even closer to Penn station than Bolt bus was.
Yeah the FlixBus drops you off and picks you up like, a block-ish down from 30th street in NYC. FlixBus has (at least when I've used it recently) been decently on time or early into NYC, which is rare for inter-city buses. The Cherry Hill pickup spot can be confusing bc it's basically in the middle of the "road" surrounding Cherry Hill Mall down from where the NJ Transit buses pick you up, and if you miss the 2 small flixbus signs you'll be super confused the entire time until the bus arrives.
For those using Flix, the actual stop is across the street from Midas on Haddonfield-Berlin Road. I found out the hard way by using the address on the Flix website …which was a random lot. Lots of fun at 630am!
Unless they have 2 stops, they've moved to the Cherry Hill Mall now (I just took a FlixBus from there last month). The stop is on the mall service road that leads you to the main lots for JC Penney & Old Navy, where the NJ Transit bus stop is also. Waiting for the bus you're literally just standing on grass in what feels like the middle of where you should not be standing in terms of the mall lol.
Ah interesting. Checking out their website, looks like it is back! That's good news. Last bus back out of NYC is 9pm though which is a bit of a bummer, but better than nothing I guess.
Oh wow I didn’t know! Been about that long since I’ve been to nyc outside of the Hamilton station. Thanks for the update
Took that for about 18 months every so often before Covid. Super fast assuming the bus doesn’t break down or you don’t get stuck on the “healix” in Weehawken going into the tunnel
Yeah, riverline just isn't fast enough to try and get on it, then switch in Trenton. Plus parking sucks at most of the stops except Pennsauken
Seconding going from Hamilton.
If you have the time and don’t like driving, you could go to Florence, Roebling, or Bordentown and catch the RiverLINE to Trenton, then take it to either NY Penn or else Newark Penn & transfer to PATH to get downtown. It’s cheaper than parking at Hamilton, but like 30-40 mins longer
My dad commuted for years from Medford, and took the Grayhound bus from Mt. Laurel when he first started. (Eventually, he got a "car phone" and started driving so he could take meetings in the car).
The Mount Laurel stop is no longer there. It's up by Exit 5 of the turnpike now. It may still say Mt. Laurel on the website (last time I looked).
Ah - that explains it. I had to take my dad to the social security office last year and it looked deserted, but when I looked on Grayhound’s site before answering, it said “Mt Laurel.”
Commute from Collingswood 2-3x a week. Wife typically drops me off at 30th and I get the Amtrak up. If you have a reliable schedule, it’s easy to get sub-20 dollar tickets if you book far enough in advance.
Parking at 30th is expensive so I’ll usually go to Hamilton if she is not around, but the drive is annoying and I find it more difficult to work on NJ transit. Flexibility with NJ transit is a positive though.
Maybe every second week I’ll stay the night in New York. If you book a hotel in Long Island City, it’s a 15 minute commute and you the nightly rate averages roughly 150 over the year (Sep, Oct, Dec and May are the more expensive months).
Probably couldn’t do it every day, but hybrid is fine.
Why not PATCO -> L -> 30th?
Fair question. Will do it occasionally, but find that it’s less reliable at the times that I travel. Seem to always miss the speed line coming home, which adds another 15 mins when I’m already tired
I also vote for driving to Hamilton and taking NEC line in to Penn. That'd be the quickest and most reliable. Its a shame there isn't like a limited express service for the riverline cause that could make a PATCO --> Riverline --> NEC trip a lot more viable. Or like a spur line commuter for NEC.
Well I don’t recommend driving to ny day after day unless you either wanna move near ny or live in ny. Your best bet is really trains and depending on where your looking at is to see the nearest station is
I defintiely don't want to drive. I'm hoping to be able to work during the commute a little so I'm not stuck in the office for a full 8 hours, but still get that face time they're looking for.
Is there a way to work remotely by any chance
Another reason not to drive to NYC is that you get that extra 'congestion pricing' fee that they add to your EZ Pass.
My husband used to take a commuter bus out of Burlington but post pandemic the schedules reduced so he switched to driving to Hamilton and taking the express train. Not sure if bus schedules have improved. All of this said, I am not sure that even these options would work if the job was outside Manhattan.
Yeah, most of the route I know are either go into Penn, or get off in Newark and PATH it closer to Wall Street.
Since I don't have a job lined up yet, part of the reason I was looking to see what others do was to know what might be feasible for, say, a job in DUMBO.
I used to take the academy bus out of westhampton. Free parking however i stopped because the earliest bus out of the Port Authority is around 3:30 n id get done work at 2:30. Now I just do the hamilton / penn station route.
Take the train to Philly and take the bus to New York. I take the train from lindenwold to Philly then the bus to New York
Hey OP. I’ve been doing this commute 3-4x a week for about 18 months now. I usually take 1 of 2 options.
The 1st option is Amtrak from Philadelphia. I typically book my trains far out in advance (3-4 months), and I always purchase the “flex” ticket option that allows me to cancel up until my departure time with no penalty. I can get tickets for a pretty reasonable price, sometimes even cheaper than NJ Transit. It saves a lot of time to drive to 30th Street Station as opposed to taking PATCO + SEPTA, although parking can be expensive, as another commenter noted - having someone drop you off would create a lot of cost savings.
The 2nd option is NJ Transit from Hamilton. I will opt for NJ Transit on days I’m looking for a little more flexibility on arrival + departure. Parking is much cheaper at Hamilton than Philadelphia, but obviously the trade off is you’re driving a lot more (~40+ mins each way).
If you’re looking for career opportunities in the NYC area and are worried about commute time, I recommend including Jersey City in your search. You could save a lot of time and headache by getting off at Newark instead of NY Penn Station and take the PATH/light rail the rest of the way.
Feel free to DM if you have more questions - happy to talk more on the subject.
Thanks a lot. Basically the whole metro is in consideration right now, but I enjoyed a 10 minute commute for years, but the opportunities around here are just few and far between, and I want that NY payday.
I understand the sentiment. It is definitely a grind, and I don’t think I can do this forever. Having the mindset that it is a temporary sacrifice in order to help establish our family in the future keeps me going.
If you are willing to drive a little bit, I would go from Princeton Station to NYC. I actually live much further south, and I avoid Hamilton.
Just curious, why?
Because you don't have to waste time dealing with getting into and out of Philly, and it's a quick ride (relatively) to NYC. You don't have to contend with as much road traffic, and the train bypasses all that going into NYC (which is awful).
Where in SNJ do you live that necessitates going in and out of Philly to get to Hamilton Station?
But Hamilton Station is in New Jersey, before Princeton Junction (if you're driving from South Jersey).
Yes, but
HamiltonHammonton doesn't go direct to NYC. Hamilton goes to Philly, then you switch trains to go to NYC. You're bypassing delays going to Princeton.Are we talking about a different Hamilton Station? (Or Hammonton?) The NJ Transit stations for the Northeast Corridor are: Trenton ---> Hamilton----->Princeton Junction - - - > and so on. Trenton has rail connections to SEPTA but at Hamilton you're going either to Trenton or NYC.
Hamilton Station is the preferred station for those driving up from South Jersey because it's a straight shoot up 295 and there's plenty of parking.
Yes, sorry, Hammonton station was the one I am referring to. I think that makes more sense.
I was super confused for a minute having grown up in that area. Parking at Hamilton sucks but Princeton Junction isually feels worse.
To make matters even more confusing further southeast of me, there is Hamilton, which is midway between Hammonton and Atlantic City, in and about the Mays Landing area.
Yes, there are 2 Hamiltons in NJ.
I commuted to NY from South Jersey for a couple of years and the NJT Park-n-Ride at the Lombardi rest stop was my preferred method.
So you drove like 90% of the way then transfereed
Yes. My thought process at the time was that no matter what kind of craziness was happening in the city with Amtrak/NJT trains, all I had to do to get to work/home was make it to the Lombardi rest stop. I liked that it allowed me to be in charge of 90% of the commute. It had its moments, but all in all it worked for me.
Not sure how it is now, but the bus headways were every 15 or 20 minutes. It was a great pit stop. The terminal was comfortable and the bathrooms were always in good shape.
Bus service is iffy at best
Been doing the grind from Marlton to NYC for about 10 years now. For perspective, service based work puts me in Manhattan by car 2-3 days per week, but the other boroughs aren't out of the question either. It sucks your wallet dry since a one way, direct ride up the turnpike will cost $15 in tolls and the Lincoln is~$20 and you haven't parked yet!
Whatever you do, do the math first! And best of luck in your endeavor...cheers!
In Cherry Hill. Neighbor drives to Hamilton and gets the express into NYC 4x a week.
I do this 1-2x a month. It’s a slog. The main issue being that despite the infrastructure existing there’s no single or even 2 seat rides into NYC. As our offices changed from Union Square ton FIDI, I get off on Newark now and take the WTC PATH train. Door-to-door my record stands at exactly 120 minutes (36 min drive to Hamilton, parking, 43 min train to Newark, 20 min PATH to Oculus, walk to office).
Honestly there should be some sort of express service from Pennsauken to Trenton to get rid of the drive up 295…
My brother takes the bus from ocean county to NYC 5 days a week. Not the most luxurious ride but the station is close to where we live and he says it definitely beats driving.