I have been commuting to Manhattan from northern New Jersey for the past 13 years. Until recently I had an easy one-hour train commute (each way) but since Hurricane Sandy shutdown the Hoboken PATH station I have had to commute by bus. It is less expensive but it also much more of a hassle and much less reliable. Accidents, bad weather and other random delays can turn the trip into a four-hour trek. What should be a two-hour round trip commute has totaled six hours. I felt compelled to record the journey from my house in Ridgewood to my office in New York in order to document this phase of my life, and also for anyone curious enough to spend about an hour and twenty minutes to see the change of landscape from a suburban hamlet to the core of the Big Apple. I must note here that this trip was smooth sailing. The footage, however, is shaky and poor quality. It is a raw capture of sights, sounds and throngs of people. The commute here starts with a quarter-mile walk to the Van Neste Square bus stop in the center of Ridgewood. I board the 6:55 NJ Transit 163P express bus to Port Authority in midtown. There is quite a long underground walk from Port Authority to the subway line I need to take down to SoHo. I ride the downtown 2 express to 14th Street and then a transfer to the local 1, which I take two stops to the Houston Street station. From there it is a one-block walk on King Street to Hudson Street.
Click here to view Commute! on YouTube.
Click here to view Commute! on YouTube.