New to NJT: Zones, Monthly Pass - Seeking Info

Hello All:

I am new to NJT and I recently purchased a monthly rail pass to Ridgewood (from NYP - 9 Zone; cost $218).

I would appreciate it very much if some one could explain more about zone systems and/or point to URLs with such info (after searching for more than an hour the only info I could find was on this web site in response to queries from other users!)

a) Can I use the monthly rail pass on NJ Transit buses? How do I determine appropriate usage?
b) Can I use the monthly rail pass (NYP-Ridgewood) on other rail lines? The information on an earlier thread on Glen Rock was very useful. However, to really understand the posting it seems that I need to know what the zones are all about... leading to my next question...
c) How do I find out about the zones used by NJT?

Thanks in advance for helping out a newbie...

Hi,

Here is a couple of answers to your questions about the Monthly Rail Pass and using the bus.

Yes, you can use your monthly pass on NJ Transit Buses. The 9 Zones on your Rail pass indicate how many zones you can travel on an NJT Bus. NJT Bus operations uses zones to determine how much a fare will cost and it is based on distance travelled. Transit introduced this flexibility some years ago and eliminated feeder fares which had to be paid in addition to showing a bus operator your rail pass.

You can consult a NJT Bus Timetable on the NJT website at www.njtransit.com. Also more information about Bus fare zones can be obtained from the site as well.

For the most part I noticed that the website can be a little confusing it is best to look at the timetables for information.

Ken





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kdjohnson wrote:Yes, you can use your monthly pass on NJ Transit Buses. The 9 Zones on your Rail pass indicate how many zones you can travel on an NJT Bus.

The 9 zones NYP-Ridgewood is the rail zone and is not the bus zone which is different. For example, my monthly rail pass is 21 for rail but 11 for bus. The square box with a zone number on the rail pass is what it is valid for bus zone use so it is easy for the bus driver to interpret the rail pass.

The rail zone number does not appear on the railpass since the conductors have a conversion table indexed by stations if they don't know by memory.

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The zones are in the rail and bus timetables. Also see

http://www.njtransit.com

Yes, you can use your monthly pass on NJ Transit Buses

Cross-honoring is relatively new, and is available on but a few bus routes, not all of them. See the bottom of this page for specifics.

(Used to be that monthly passes were good only for reduced fare on local bus travel.)

Thanks for the pointers... Just to clarify:

1) Does the zone info printed on the monthly RAIL pass pertain to Bus Zones (I looked at the bus schedule and was able to find the zone info, thanks!)

2) Irish Chieftain, the information on the link seems to indicate two separate programs:

a) Rail passes to be used on buses (less restrictive - stay within the zone limit, use on any bus line?):

"Passengers with rail passes printed with a bus zone equivalency may use their NJ TRANSIT rail pass for any NJ TRANSIT light rail or for NJ TRANSIT bus trips up to the number of zones imprinted during the period the pass is valid."

b) Bus passes to be used on Trains (this was my interpretation of info listed under additional cross-honoring programs - this was more restrictive):

"Several NJ TRANSIT rail lines offer cross-honoring privileges for the acceptance of rail fare media on buses. The programs include... "

Am I correct in this interpretation?

Thanks.

nsk wrote:Thanks for the pointers... Just to clarify:

1) Does the zone info printed on the monthly RAIL pass pertain to Bus Zones (I looked at the bus schedule and was able to find the zone info, thanks!)

2) Irish Chieftain, the information on the link seems to indicate two separate programs:

a) Rail passes to be used on buses (less restrictive - stay within the zone limit, use on any bus line?):

"Passengers with rail passes printed with a bus zone equivalency may use their NJ TRANSIT rail pass for any NJ TRANSIT light rail or for NJ TRANSIT bus trips up to the number of zones imprinted during the period the pass is valid."
Thanks.

The zone information on your monthly rail pass refers to the number of zones you can travel on NJT Bus. For an example, my Newark to NYP pass will allow me to ride an NJT Bus for up to 3 zones. Believe it or not I just switched to NJT Rail from taking the PATH into NYC for this convienience. I liked being able to get into Midtown and not having to buy a separate pass or pay the old Feeder fares (meaning I had to carry a bunch of change).

One point of clarification though regarding light rail. IF you have a monthly rail pass that indicates at least 1 zone you can ride on the Newark Light Rail and RIVERLine. However, you must have a rail pass that reads two zone or higher to ride the Hudson Bergen Light rail.

KJ

kd: And I just switched to buying a pass to Rutherford instead of Newark (zone 3, while Newark is 2) to be allowed to ride the 108 bus to Manhattan if I want. Seems silly that the bus is 4 zones and rail only provides for 3 -- even from the same spot.

Another interesting thing: weekly passes only give 1 zone of bus travel. This makes no sense! Someone buying weeklies instead of a monthly for a month they go out of town must also shell out for bus fare differences. It's strange, since the value is better on a monthly (if you bought 4 weeklies, you'd be paying NJT more money, not less).

Irish Chieftain wrote:

Yes, you can use your monthly pass on NJ Transit Buses

Cross-honoring is relatively new, and is available on but a few bus routes, not all of them. See the bottom of this page for specifics.

(Used to be that monthly passes were good only for reduced fare on local bus travel.)

Irish Chieftan: I saw this and it is a specific program benefit rider on the train lines listed on the site. But if you consult any NJT Bus timetable and you look under fare options, those people with monthly rail passes can use their card. Even when I was in high school and I used to have a rail pass (and paid the feeder fare) I was able to use it on just about any bus line.

It seems a little confusing, but I think the options mentioned on the page you reffered us to are separate programs to allow people who want an alternative to taking the train and I think a lot of these busses stop at various stations along the rail lines mentioned on the website.

KJ

kdjohnson wrote:

Irish Chieftain wrote:

Yes, you can use your monthly pass on NJ Transit Buses

Cross-honoring is relatively new, and is available on but a few bus routes, not all of them. See the bottom of this page for specifics.

(Used to be that monthly passes were good only for reduced fare on local bus travel.)

Irish Chieftan: I saw this and it is a specific program benefit rider on the train lines listed on the site. But if you consult any NJT Bus timetable and you look under fare options, those people with monthly rail passes can use their card. Even when I was in high school and I used to have a rail pass (and paid the feeder fare) I was able to use it on just about any bus line.

It seems a little confusing, but I think the options mentioned on the page you reffered us to are separate programs to allow people who want an alternative to taking the train and I think a lot of these busses stop at various stations along the rail lines mentioned on the website.

KJ

KJ, you are correct. The number of zones printed on a NJT monthly rail pass is the number of zones you can use on a NJT bus for free with that pass.

The separate options for specific bus lines gives people with rail passes the option to take a bus that would normally not be covered by the # of bus zones on their rail pass.

ryanov wrote:kd: And I just switched to buying a pass to Rutherford instead of Newark (zone 3, while Newark is 2) to be allowed to ride the 108 bus to Manhattan if I want. Seems silly that the bus is 4 zones and rail only provides for 3 -- even from the same spot.

Another interesting thing: weekly passes only give 1 zone of bus travel. This makes no sense! Someone buying weeklies instead of a monthly for a month they go out of town must also shell out for bus fare differences. It's strange, since the value is better on a monthly (if you bought 4 weeklies, you'd be paying NJT more money, not less).

Ryanov, are you saying you can ride the 108 without charge from Newark to New York using a "3-zone" rail pass (even though the ride is 4 zones)? Or do you have to pay a step up fare?

I was once told by a NJT customer service rep that my Bound Brook to Newark rail pass, which had 8 zones printed on it, could NOT be used to travel to New York on the 114 bus from Bound Brook (a 9-zone ride) even with a step up fare. They went as far as to say that in order to use a rail pass for a bus to NY that didn't have enough bus zones, it would have to have NYP printed as an origin, otherwise you can't use it. Example: The Bound Brook to Newark pass I mentioned above (8 zones), cannot be used in combination with a step up charge to goto NY on the 114 from Bound Brook (9-zone ride); however another rail ticket with "8 zones" printed on it with NYP as an origin (regardless where the other origin is) and costs exactly the same as the other ticket CAN be used in conjunction with a step up fare to travel to NY on the same bus trip. Confusing? Yes...

The only thing that I do not like about the program is that private carrier can still charge its rail pass customers a rail pass fare (Even though NJ Transit has an agreement that allows Monthly Bus pass holders to use those lines) Coach USA charges I think some pretty hefty rail pass fares that I if was to use the 24 or 44 every day would force me back to my original commuting arrangement.

So to avoid having to spend an extra 40 bucks a month, I use NJT bus lines. Though where I live in Newark, If I wanted to get home a little faster I have to spend more money. Not going to do it.

KJ