The PATH

Today, the PATH nearly failed me.

I take the PATH everyday to work. I have been taking the PATH to my place of work for all but 4 of my 12 years working as a professional. I’ve always found it reliable, smooth, easy, and (generally) a pleasant form of mass transit. It’s mostly clean, bright, and calm. And 99% of the time, I find it on schedule. The same can’t always be said of other mass transit systems.

New York’s subway system is almost always never on time, is often dirty, and (I find) is not as smooth as the PATH. Boston’s T is really nice but it doesn’t run 24 hours a day; it doesn’t go everywhere in the city. Washington DC’s system is similar to Boston’s; the ride is nice but it doesn’t go everywhere you need, either. These observations are not a knock on them, per se, because each has its own benefits and drawbacks that make them unique.

New York’s system is one of the largest in the world and it services its 8.5 million citizens and an additional 7 million commuters; with that many customers, its bound to be delayed and dirty. Boston’s natives can nearly walk anywhere in the city within 15 minutes and doesn’t have as many people using it either. DC’s system has that handy clock that tells you when a train should get to the station but the cars are small and, unlike Boston, you do need the Underground to get to certain sections of the city in a decent amount of time; not all areas of DC can be walked quickly.

But back to the PATH for a minute…

This weekend, the PATH is operating on a different schedule as it works on switches supporting its infrastructure. Repairs are necessary and I don’t mind the 20 minute schedule. I don’t even mind the crazy shifts they come up with; on the weekends, for example, there is no Hoboken to World Trade service and today all midtown trains stop at 9th street and turn around.

Today, while my wife works to meet a deadline, I went to see my parents in my home town and, for that, I need to get to Newark, Penn Station. What normally is a 40 minute leg of my traveling took me about 75 minutes today. Even with the possible 20 minute delay (if I just missed a train, which I didn’t), it should only take me 60 minutes or so. But the 33rd Street to Journal Square train was late and so was the WTC to NWK train. I got into Penn Station with only two minutes to run down the ramp and pay for my train tickets. I actually think I may have gotten into the station after my train was scheduled to leave but that NJ Transit was late, too.

I suppose I could have made a scheduling mistake but I do this trip a lot and I always get the trains I need with plenty of time for small variances in the arrival and departure times; so I don’t think I made a mistake. I understand that changes can lead to some initial confusion but still. I only hope that the PATH is on time when I come home to Hoboken tomorrow.