In the great news department, the Ironbound trolleys are returning for the 2009-10 hockey season. When they debuted in the spring in time for the Devils’ brief playoff run, I was excited but had some trepidation about the venture. On paper, it’s a great idea. Get arena-goers from the Rock into the Ironbound and back to visit any number of restaurants and bars along the 12-stop loop. I wondered about the application though. Would there be enough funding and ridership to continue maintenance on these converted buses? When the Devils were bounced at the end of that cruel April, I was disappointed that there wasn’t enough time to generate a following for the trolley. That’s no longer the case.
Pulling up to Prudential Center during the playoffs.
The schedule lists every Devils home game, with extended hours (through midnight) on most weekend games. I highly encourage people to take advantage of this free feature on the weekends. The practicality of the weeknight service running from 5-8 is a little weak, and in most cases, moot. By the time most people leave work, pick up the kids or their drunken, jobless friends, and sit in traffic on I-280 or Rt. 21, is there really enough time to explore the Ironbound at Boi Na Brasa or Hamburgao? But if you’ve got the time, by all means, take advantage of this Monday through Thursday, too.
If NJ Devil rides the trolley to games, so should you.
Whatever, the point is that on Fridays and Saturdays, there is plenty of time to go the Sagres, Fornos, Mompou and everywhere else in the Ironbound after the games, and opening up more of Newark’s softer side to visitors and travelers is never a bad thing. Two thumbs up to the Ironbound Business Improvement District and the Greater Newark Convention and Visitors Bureau for getting this right and sticking with it. Now if only the schedule would expand to add other arena events…
October 5th, 2009 at 8:55 pm
I though this was a great concept when I first heard about it last year, but as I am not a hockey fan, I’ll never get to use it. Why no stop at Penn Station since its route passes right by the Market Street bus lanes? Why not run it, even at reduced frequency, for non-hockey events? I was at Cirque du Solelil over the summer and it would’ve been great to dine in Ironbound and then hop on a trolley. And, in response to your comment about the I-280 commuters, why not advertise to the office crowd as a great happy hour pub crawl? There has to be a way to get all those salarymen out of their Gateway Center cloister. All of these would be great for Ironbound.
October 6th, 2009 at 9:02 am
“Why not run it, even at reduced frequency, for non-hockey events?”
Not enough demand for it.
October 6th, 2009 at 7:06 pm
Marv, do you know that for sure? Was it tried last year?
October 7th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
Marv,
I have to agree with WL, Right now I think the trolley could be used to replace the number 1′s local rought and place the 1 and even the 25 onto market/raymond as express routes.
October 7th, 2009 at 8:50 pm
It is a great thing to have. They just look nice riding through the city. I have used it and it is great, and they do have it for some non hockey events. At least last year they did. How great would this be when the NCAA comes to town in 2011??!!
October 11th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
Yeah Vinny, the trolleys would be a good perk to have around for the NCAAs in 2011. I’ve got my fingers crossed that a lot of the downtown area will be very different by then, but we’ll see.
October 18th, 2009 at 10:45 am
Any word on what ridership is like for these this season? I saw them after last night’s game, but didn’t notice if anyone was using them.