Not with a bang, but a whimper. That’s how commuters seem to be moving, albeit in small numbers, back to working in-person in their NYC offices.
Leaving the comfort of your
home office and Zoom-nasium won’t be easy, as many of us have found ways to be
so much more productive without wasting hours commuting. But when the boss says “jump” you got to ask
yourself (and her), “how high?” when you really want to say “but why?”
I hear anecdotes of some
employers being persuaded (or forced?) to offer work-from-home alternatives two
or three days a week just to keep their key staffers. And
given the demand for talent, such options may become a deciding factor in
where to hold a job.
Many of those who’ve been
persuaded (or ordered) back to the office have so far opted for driving to New
York City, perhaps because their expensive parking was being subsidized by
their employers to entice them back. But
their traffic-and- stress-free drives of months ago have morphed into
post-COVID mayhem as I-95 and the scenic Merritt Parkway are back to gridlock.
So, is it time to reconsider
the train or are there new alternatives on the horizon?
Much as Metro-North keeps saying
it wants commuters to come back, they’re not doing enough to make their service
attractive. Oh, their trains safe enough
if you keep masked-up (as required
by the TSA). But
with ridership crawling back from 9% (a pandemic low) to more recent weekday loads of 39%,
given the reduced service the trains are getting crowded again. Really
crowded.
Every day someone Tweets a
picture of a standing-room-only Metro-North train, pleading with the railroad
to add more cars if not also increasing the number and speed of trains
(currently offering only 53% of pre-COVID service).
Granted, they just added four
more daily trains between New Haven and GCT in rush hour. And I’ll give them thumbs up for adding a new
feature to their TrainTime app to show which
cars are the least crowded.
But Metro-North is about as
nimble as a rock. They have a surplus of
new M8 cars and plenty of OT-hungry conductors and engineers, so why not expand
service more quickly? Why do anything
more to discourage people from riding the rails again?
Why? Because they have no competition… yet.
Sensing a business
opportunity, entrepreneur Joe Colangelo (the guy who invented Boxcar, the
“Air B&B of commuter parking”), is considering giving Metro-North a run for
its money, especially along “the gold coast” of Fairfield County.
Colangelo envisions a luxury motor
coach offering a one-seat ride from New Canaan, Darien and Greenwich to midtown
and Wall Street. His cushy fleet would
have Wi-Fi (still a non-starter
on Metro-North), at-seat power plugs and onboard bathrooms. So even though you may be stuck in traffic
you can still be productive.
Right now he’s conducting a survey to
gauge commuter interest and to collect data on destinations and travel
times. But I’d predict he gives his idea
a chance over the summer to have it ready for post-Labor Day carmageddon.
Tickets would be bought on their
app even use benefit programs like Wageworks and
TransitChek. From New Canaan to GCT
would be 65 minutes, then on to Hudson Yards and the Financial District (90
min).
While Metro-North is studying
and planning, hemming and hawing, this entrepreneur may launch a new
alternative in just a matter of weeks.
And good for him, even if he’ll be skimming the 1% cream off the top of
the railroad’s heavily subsidized operation.
Commuters deserve
alternatives.
Posted with permission of
Hearst CT Media.
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