After years of an easy journey to school, students and staff here at UACHS have been forced to reroute due to a broken sewer pipe. Students that usually take the NJ Hudson Bergen light-rail between Garfield Avenue and West Side Avenue have been left to find alternative ways to get to and from school due to a year-long reconstruction.
Until damages are fixed, New Jersey Transit has come up with an alternative for those who don’t want to walk everywhere, which just so happens to be three different shuttle buses.
Shuttles will run from West Side Avenue, Martin Luther King Drive, and Garfield Avenue stations straight to the Liberty State Park station, where light rail service will then be available.
Students are failing due to the mounting tardies. Junior, A’niiyah Cureton, goes on to explain how taking the shuttle bus has been an inconvenience.
“Due to traffic, I’m scared that I could possibly fail my first period class due to my tardies,” said Cureton.
Student commuters are late to school so much that their grades are dropping to an F at the end of the term.
New Jersey Transit revealed that these three stops on the West Side Avenue branch of the Hudson Bergen light rail are to go without light rail service until March 1, 2020. The three light rail stops are being shut down because workers are repairing the 54-inch sewer pipe that runs underneath the tracks.
“If the work on the sewer line is not done, there would be significant environmental damage in this area if the pipe fails,” said NJ Transit officials.
Students voice their opinions and explain why they aren’t happy with the new change in transportation that the NJ transit officials have provided.
“ I don’t agree with the shuttle bus service because it does not transport as many people as the light rail did and I don’t feel as safe as I did before,” said Cureton.
Students that used to get around town by the light rail have recently had to rely on the shuttle bus or walk the distance.
Junior Essence Brooks, who will fail the marking period, blames the shuttle bus due to its departure schedule.
“The light rail not running has been causing me to be late to school way too much. It leaves at different times everyday and even when I leave my house early the shuttle bus gets delayed and I still end up being late to school,” said Brooks.
As the year progresses and grades continue to be affected by lateness, UACHS students eagerly await the return of reliable transportation.