New Jersey residents brace for possible NJ Transit strike
A potential strike is two days away and is seeming more likely as the May 16 deadline approaches.
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New Jersey is closing in on a potential transit strike that could put a stop to all commuter trains around the state. New Jersey transit engineers could go on strike as early as midnight on Friday, May 16.
At the Bound Brook Train Station, News 12 found some rail riders who still don’t know train engineers might strike. Other riders say they will consider working from home, while others will choose to use the nearest New Jersey Transit bus.
For those who need a direct line to New York City, the 114 bus at Mountain and Union Avenue in Bound Brook will be available to riders. It’s a 2-hour ride with a price of $13 for a one-way ticket. The train from Bound Brook is just over an hour.
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It’s not just commuters heading to New York who this potential strike will impact. Main Street in Bound Brook is filled with workers who rely on the rails.
The manager of the El Palacio restaurant has 10 employees from Plainfield, only 15 minutes away, who use the train to get to work. If there’s a strike they would all have to figure out a different way to the restaurant.
“I mean the most of them, they don’t drive. They don’t have a driver’s license, so there is no way to get here. We are really worried about it,” said Oziel Hernandez, manager of El Palacio.
Hernandez spoke with a few of his employees, who said they didn’t know of a looming strike. If they can’t get in, the only solution Hernandez may have is to pick up his staff and drive them to work - an option which will likely not be possible for most employers statewide.
