To the Editor:

As someone who works in Liberty State Park, I have witnessed the hardship of visitors as they try to make their way to the Statue of Liberty. There is no shuttle bus in the park and this leaves tourists stranded, often in the worst weather. Visitors have waited for over an hour at a shuttle bus stop that has no service.

N.J. Transit has not had the decency to at least cover the shuttle bus sign at the Liberty State Park light rail station. Neither have they advised light rail passengers that there is no shuttle connection into the park. Tourists have been forced to walk for nearly 30 minutes, sometimes in pouring rain and severe wind. Families with young children and older tourists are particularly vulnerable. This gap in mass transit leaves visitors with a terrible impression of Jersey City, Hudson County, and the State of New Jersey.

Taking a taxi to the park is not much better. Taxis often drop people off at the wrong place, such as at the Visitors’ Center on the south end of the park, instead of at the Ferry Terminal at the north end of the park. Many tourists, on vacation and unfamiliar with this climate, are not dressed appropriately for the dangers created by this transportation disaster.

The shuttle bus needs to be returned to Liberty State Park. N.J. Transit could extend one of the existing lines and make it go into the park. Many people work in the park and also need transportation to work. Local people who enjoy the park need the shuttle bus to the picnic sites and nature trails.

Without a shuttle bus, everyone is inconvenienced or at risk to their safety. Do people have to die of hypothermia or heat exhaustion before N.J. Transit realizes the need for the shuttle bus? A bus is not just a profit making device for a corporation, but it is also a service that a community needs. Call the NJ Transit Board of Directors at (973) 491-8800 and tell N.J. Transit to reinstate the shuttle bus at Liberty State Park.



PATRICIA HILLIARD