Airport transportation from Newark?

November 6, 2006 9:11 AM

Best way to get from Newark Airport to Jersey City?

I'm visiting friends in Jersey City, and flying into Newark in the late afternoon. What's the best way to get to their house, which is about 12 miles from the airport, at Central Ave & Congress St.?

I'm pretty poor, would a cab be expensive? Is there a reasonable shuttle service?

posted by YoungAmerican to travel & transportation (11 comments total)

Go to NJTransit's website and plan out a trip; you should be able to use buses to get most of the way there.
posted by graymouser at 9:18 AM on November 6, 2006

New Jersey has the best state-wide public transportation system in the country; use it.
posted by maxreax at 9:24 AM on November 6, 2006

You can take the shuttle to Newark (not New York) Penn Station, then switch to the PATH train, which is like a mini-subway that also runs into Manhattan. If I remember correctly, the transfer is dead simple--you pay a dollar fifty and cross the platform.

I think Hoboken would be the closest PATH station. You can usually get a taxi right outside the station without too much difficulty. Here's a Google map of the area.

Can you ask your friends for help getting from the train to their house if you don't want to spend on a taxi? They should know SOME information about the bus if they don't have a car, since I doubt they walk from where they live to work every day--there's not much going on in that neighborhood of JC, is there?
posted by bcwinters at 9:32 AM on November 6, 2006

bcwinters --

The PATH is great if you're going to lower Manhattan, but YoungAmerican's going to Jersey City. There is a PATH train to Journal Square, but it'd be cheapest for YA to shuttle to Newark Penn Station from the airport, and then take buses to Journal Square and on to Summit Ave. and Patterson St. It's a little complex, but it's gotta beat taking a cab.
posted by graymouser at 9:45 AM on November 6, 2006

The airtrain connects Newark airport to a well-serviced NJ Transit train line. It's a very short (5 min.?) trip from there to Newark Penn Station, where you can get on a PATH train to Journal Sq. which is in Jersey City.
posted by Doctor Barnett at 9:49 AM on November 6, 2006

Yeah, you're right, graymouser--I went with the taxi since I don't really know the buses from Journal Square and it seemed to me that that it would be closer to the Hoboken PATH since that section of JC is right on the cliff above Hoboken.

For your route, wouldn't it be easier to take the PATH to Journal Square rather than a bus, though? Having to navigate the bus area in BOTH Penn and Journal Square seems like something I wouldn't want to deal with when carrying luggage, especially since it's dead simple to switch from the airport shuttle to the PATH at Penn.
posted by bcwinters at 9:54 AM on November 6, 2006

bcwinters --

Yeah, you could do the PATH to Journal Square more easily, and it's only a little more money (still well under $5 from Penn Station to a block or two away from the destination). So that seems to work fine.
posted by graymouser at 10:04 AM on November 6, 2006

hey all,
Journal Square is indeed in Jersey City Heights, but the path (for the same $1.50) continues on to the Grove Street Station in downtown JC, or else you can transfer trains for free at Journal Square to Exchange Place if you are trying to get closer to the financial district. If you know where you're headed in Jersey City, the path from Newark Penn station is fab. (It's part of my daily commute)
posted by stagewhisper at 11:22 AM on November 6, 2006

oh, sorry- I see where you are coming from now- that's a couple miles away from the Journal Square stop, you are above downtown in the Heights. A cab to Congress and Central avenue from Journal Square shouldn't cost much. Ignore my previous advice. You'll be in my hood.
posted by stagewhisper at 11:30 AM on November 6, 2006

I'm very close to that address and I can tell you a cab is the easiest and fastest way. If you're carrying any bulky luggage don't hesitate- should be 30ish dollars, max, and it can be fast, like 15 minutes door to door, traffic permitting.

The NJTransit train to Newark and then PATH to Journal Square and then a cab or bus to the Heights is a cheaper option, if you're traveling light and have the time.
posted by bink at 2:13 PM on November 6, 2006

Previously - with bus route numbers!
posted by Orb2069 at 7:52 PM on November 6, 2006