This Hoboken Teacher Commutes From Brooklyn Each Day By Bike: What Are The Pitfalls?

HOBOKEN, NJ — Biking and scootering to school or work is something that millions of people do each day. With the rise in bike share programs and electric scooters, personal transport has never been more convenient.

Except when certain rules make it inconvenient.

Many people in the New York metropolitan area use biking as a quick and cheap means to connect the distance between their homes or offices to a nearby public transit center. However, despite bikers’ best efforts, they are often thwarted in their attempts to get exercise and help the environment during their commute.

Transportation authorities have enacted strict regulations on when and how customers can bring their bicycles on trains, and stations are often unequipped to adequately protect a bicyclist's property.

The 8-Mile Commute

Ari Räisä is a science teacher at the Hudson School's high school who commutes every day between Park Slope and Hoboken. This eight mile reverse commute can be inconvenient and challenging.

Räisä has a car, but it would cost him a $17 tunnel toll plus gas, plus take 45 minutes to hour each way — and then there are the environmental impacts, particularly when sitting in traffic.

Raisa now uses his bike to get from his Brooklyn home to the PATH train, and then from Hoboken station to his job.

But this raises a dilemma.

He must leave much earlier in the morning than necessary so he can get on the PATH before 6:30 a.m. (PATH won't allow bicycles between 6:30 and 9:30 a.m.) and then he must leave work early to get on the PATH by 3:30 p.m. (3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. are also no-bike times).

An alternative is to pay $12 round trip on the ferry, which allows bikes all day, but those costs can add up.

Some Americans might see this eight-mile bicycle commute as long early in the morning.

But Räisä, a Finland native, explained, “[in Europe] people always went by bike. When I went to [elementary] school, I had only taken the bus once, and biked the rest of the days. Whatever the weather was, I still went out."

Räisä explained that he sees it as more than just a commute: He sees it as a great way to get exercise and some time to himself.

'There Is No One There'

What Räisä does not understand is why PATH does not allow reverse commuters on the trains with their bikes, because when heading from New York to New Jersey, it's not as crowded as the reverse.

“I understand why they might not want people taking their bikes on the rush-hour trains, but when I go, there is no one there," he noted.

This is why he is reluctant to bring his own bike and instead sometimes swaps out for a CitiBike. He rides the first one from Brooklyn to the PATH station and then gets another one when he gets to Hoboken.

While this constant switching of transportation seems inconvenient, Räisä explained that he does it because he feels there is no other choice. “It is very expensive to drive back home – like $17 to go through the tolls – and then I’m running my car for nearly and hour just to go eight miles, what about the environment?”

Räisä knows that he needs to stop driving his car so much because of its effect on the climate, and he is not alone; countless Americans are switching to greener transportation alternatives.

Some people who commute from more suburban areas to Hoboken leave their bike locked up at the bike racks at Hoboken Terminal so that, when they arrive, they can unlock their own bike and ride directly to their destination without having to worry about dealing and paying for a CitiBike. However, this comes with serious downsides. Hoboken Termnial’s bike parking areas are semi-exposed, meaning that the elements can damage one’s bike. In addition, bikes are stolen throughout the year.

What NJ Transit Has to Say

New Jersey Transit is aware of these issues and working to resolve them, said an agency spokesperson.

"The New Jersey Transit Police Department has seen a decrease in bike thefts in and around Hoboken Terminal over the past four years," a spokesperson said, suggesting that increased patrols by transit police have helped during peak hours.

The agency’s police department (NJTPD) has also taken new measures to catch potential bike thieves. Recently, the NJTPD Anti-Crime squad has begun employing tactics such as laying decoy bikes at bike theft hotspots to try and catch potential thieves.

NJTPD Anti-Crime officers have also begun reviewing more surveillance footage with the hopes of identifying suspects.

Around the World

Many countries around the world and even cities in America are much friendlier to bicycling commuters than the New York City metro area.

Denmark, known for being bicycle-friendly, allows bikes on its public transportation for free, and some commuter trains even have special cars dedicated to bicycles.

A recent survey showed that 30 percent of Copenhagen commuters traveled with a bicycle, which they used to get to the train station from their homes and offices.

San Francisco’s subway system, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), allows bicycles on all trains throughout the day (although the agency does not allow bicycles in the first three cars of any train during rush hours). In addition, most BART stations have bike lockers to protect the bicycles left at the station during the day.

Encouraging a healthy and ecological commute is something towards which all state and local governments should strive. Perhaps the local transit agencies could embrace some of these programs and make commuting by bicycle available and attractive to all.

Teddy Almond is a student at the Hudson School in Hoboken. See more of his work at: https://www.teddyalmondphotography.com