Hoboken PATH Closing for 25 Days: Alternative Travel Options During the Closure

updates

While 2025 hasn’t even started yet, we can already say that a full 25-day PATH closure was definitely not on our bingo card for the coming year. On October 31st, 2024, Hoboken residents received the news that Hoboken’s PATH station, located at 1 Hudson Place, will close to complete critical track and switch upgrades. The station rehabilitation work is a part of the two-year PATH Forward program. Closures will take place from late evening on Thursday, January 30th, 2025 through early morning on Tuesday, February 25th, 2025 — leaving some commuters in a tough position to find other travel options. But not to worry — we’ve rounded up a list of travel alternatives to help locals plan ahead and make the most of the impending PATH closure. Read on for a list of alternative travel tips commuters can take advantage of during the 2025 Hoboken PATH closure.

Travel Alternatives During the Closure

If there’s one thing we know about Hoboken residents, it’s that we’re savvy and adaptable. And while we may not love these changes, there are plenty of travel alternatives we can take advantage of during the PATH closure. Travel alternatives will include expanded ferry service, frequent shuttle buses to other PATH stations, and supplemental PATH, light rail, and NJ TRANSIT bus service between Hoboken and Manhattan. PANYNJ noted that customers still may experience crowding and lines, and encouraged travelers to consider making alternative arrangements around work hours and locations if possible. All alternative travel options will also be ADA-accessible.

Read More: How Hoboken’s Lackawanna Train Station Changed Transportation Around the World

Cross-Honored Ferry Service

If you’ve never taken the ferry from Hoboken to NYC, consider a Hudson River-style commute. The positive: traveling by ferry is much more peaceful than a crowded PATH train.

The following alternatives will be available during the planned closure:

• Additional peak period service departing every 10 minutes from both Hoboken ferry terminals, the PATH/NJ TRANSIT station terminal and the 14th Street terminal, with service to Manhattan’s Brookfield Place/Battery Park City terminal and Midtown/West 39th Street terminal.
• Expanded NY Waterway crosstown bus service from Midtown/West 39th Street terminal.
• Extended operating hours until 10PM on weekdays and 12AM on weekends at both Hoboken terminals.
• Additional weekend route, providing service to Midtown/West 39th Street from both Hoboken terminals.

The full ferry schedule from Hoboken to NYC can be found here.

Free PATH Shuttle Bus Service

PANYNJ will be providing a FREE (yes, free) PATH shuttle bus service to connect Hoboken riders to continuing PATH service. The buses will drop residents off at the Newport and Exchange Place stations in Jersey City.

NJ TRANSIT Bus Service

The 126 NJ TRANSIT bus travels between Hoboken/Jersey City and NYC, and is another option for locals looking for alternative travel routes. The full schedule for each stop can be found here.

Light Rail

The Light Rail is an affordable way to travel through Hoboken and Jersey City with ease — plus, you don’t have to go underground, underwater, or get stuck in traffic. Another alternative travel option for Hoboken residents can be taking the Light Rail from their favorite Hoboken station (2nd Street, 9th Street/Congress Street, or Hoboken Terminal) and getting dropped off at one of the following PATH Stations in Jersey City.

• Pavonia/Newport/Harsimus Cove stops to take a short walk to the Newport PATH Station to get to 33rd Street in Manhattan
• Harborside Financial Center/Essex Street/Exchange Place stops to take a short walk to the Exchange Place PATH to get to the World Trade Center or the Paulus Hook Ferry
• Jersey Avenue/Marin Boulevard stops to walk to the Grove Street PATH Station to get to 33rd Street in Manhattan

Ride-Share Services

One of the greatest hacks for NJ to NYC travel is scheduling a ride-share service in advance. Scheduling the night before or even hours prior can save riders tens of dollars. The price is locked in and the drivers are already aware of your destination, so no last-minute cancellations when your driver finds out you’re heading to NYC (we’ve all been there).

Pro tip: Don’t forget to schedule your return trip too!

• Uber allows app users to schedule rides up to 90 days in advance. Riders can also cancel the reservation up to one hour before pick-up.
• Lyft allows app users to schedule rides up to 30 days in advance. Riders can cancel reservations up to one hour before pick-up. As of April 9th, 2024 Lyft rolled out an “On-time Pick Up Promise” for scheduled rides. Riders will be compensated in Lyft credits if your rider is late or doesn’t show up.
• Revel is a Brooklyn-based ride-share service powered by electric cars that travels between NJ and NYC. App users can schedule a ride up to seven days in advance and can be canceled up to 20 minutes before pick-up time. Note that Revel does not have as many drivers as Uber and Lyft so availability might be limited.

Drive

While we may be stating the obvious here, residents with cars can also drive directly into NYC to avoid multiple layers of commuting. While driving into the city comes with its own headaches, we’ve created a list of secret entrances and exits from NYC to Hoboken to make braving the city traffic a little less stressful. Read more here.

Keep in mind that the New Jersey-bound tube of the Holland Tunnel closes frequently from 11PM to 5:30AM — which will continue through the end of 2025 due to ongoing repairs related to Super Storm Sandy. More details on the repairs and closure can be found here.

More About The Closure

The PANYNJ announced via a press release on Thursday, October 31st that the Hoboken PATH station will be closed from 11:59PM on Thursday, January 30th, 2025 through 5AM on Tuesday, February 25th, 2025, as part of the agency’s two-year, $430 million PATH Forward program that will see the rehabilitation of four major stations: Hoboken, Grove Street, Newport, and Exchange Place.

During the closure, the Port Authority will carry out critical safety repairs and improvements across several elements of the 116-year-old system. The full station closure enables the PANYNJ to complete track and station work on an expedited basis that would otherwise necessitate severe schedule reductions and service suspensions repetitively over a prolonged period.

• Replacement of Hoboken Interlocking + tracks: PATH will replace in-station tracks and the Hoboken Interlocking, the intricate system of tracks and switches that allows all service from two tunnels to access three tracks at the Hoboken station. The press release noted that without the continuous 25-day outage, this work by itself would require four complete weekend shutdowns due to the scale and location of the interlocking, and an additional 50 consecutive days of significantly reduced service levels in and out of Hoboken due to the reduction in station track capacity required to maintain safe operations during the construction.
  
• Track repair + maintenance work: PATH will repair 4,500 linear feet of track in the two tunnels leading into the station. The continuous 25-day outage prevents a full year of weekend service reductions that would otherwise be required to complete the work.
• Restoration of passenger infrastructure: PATH will replace the concrete walking surfaces in public areas throughout the station and replace four staircases between the station’s mezzanine and platform levels. Performing the most disruptive work during the outage will reduce a 28-weekend timeline of disruption to customers (selective closures, rerouting of passengers, etc.) at Hoboken. The Port Authority coordinated the rehabilitation with the New Jersey Historic Preservation Office and the Hoboken Historic Preservation Commission.

The PANYNJ noted that outside consultants and experts identified the full station closure as the best option to simultaneously complete the three projects, and planned the closure for a time of year that traditionally sees lower daily ridership levels.

See More: The Best Commuter Towns in Bergen County, New Jersey

To stay up to date, riders are strongly encouraged to use the RidePATH app, visit the project site specific to the Hoboken closure, visit the PATH Forward website for information on the overall PATH Forward program, sign up for alerts, and follow PATH on social media.

More details about the upcoming Hoboken PATH closure can be found in our article here.

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