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Extreme Commuter: A bus, a boat and a train

By Marlene Naanes | mnaanes@am-ny.com

February 25, 2008

Kasandra Gonzalez could simply take one long express bus trip to work. Instead, the Staten Island resident chooses an extreme commute involving a bus, train and ferry, which is about 10 minutes longer but much cheaper.

Rather than forking over $250 a month in express bus fares, Gonzalez, 23, spends $76 on a monthly MetroCard and takes advantage of the free Staten Island Ferry. The price Gonzalez ends up paying is dealing with the mad rush to make the 6 p.m. ferry.

"The train just pulled up, its 5:58 and you still gotta go up the stairs and get into the terminal and you're running and you're running and running," she said, describing the frenetic race to the ferry.

For about a year-and-a-half, Gonzalez has weathered a commute that can last as long as two-and-a-half hours. To get to work as quickly as possible, she has planned her commute down to the minute: she rises at 5 a.m. to make a 6:26 bus, takes the 7:30 ferry and then hops on either the W or R train to her job as a paralegal near Union Square.

The evening commute has to be timed even better. She rushes out the door right at 5:30 p.m. and scrambles to the train. If she misses her ferry, she's forced to wait 15 minutes for the next one, setting back her commute a total of a half-hour.

"I know exactly what door to stand at," she said. "That way it opens right at the stairs and I can just run up the stairs and get to the ferry."

Gonzalez is saving money in hopes of moving closer to Manhattan one day.

In the meantime, she admits there are highlights to her trip. She enjoys the view of the Statue of Liberty or a nap on the ferry, and she's met "ferry friends," whose company helps pass the time.

Tell us about your extreme commute. E-mail mnaanes@am-ny.com