It was about 10:00 pm on a Sunday, and I was strapping my dozing child into her car seat for the last leg of our odyssey that had taken us on the rails up to north-central New Jersey and back in a day. Mommy was exhausted, also, but my face brightened and my long-term memory activated when my child murmured, "Mommy, I had fun on the train." "Well, we will have to do this again soon," I noted to myself.
Kids love public transportation, so I have been integrating it into our family activities whenever and wherever possible. It's true that rail and bus travel is not always cheaper than car travel, but if you add in entertainment value and time that you are not driving and can instead interact with your kids, then it is cost effective or, as the credit card adverts used to read: priceless.
It is also a value-add that, on SEPTA trains and buses, children enjoy special free fares: on weekends and major holidays, up to two children under the age of 11 traveling with a paying adult ride for free. On a daily basis SEPTA offers up to two children under 42 inches tall with a paying adult a free ride.
On New Jersey Transit, the Family Supersaver Fares are available on trains, light rail, and buses during weekends and holidays from 7:00 pm Friday (or the day before a holiday) until 6am Monday (or the day after a holiday). Two children ages five through 11 may travel free with a passenger paying any valid fare. Also on New Jersey Transit, children ages five through 11 save at least 50% off regular one-way fares at all times. Up to three children ages four and under ride free with a passenger paying any valid fare.
The websites for SEPTA and New Jersey Transit are moderately helpful with providing schedules and fares (see “Septaland” below), but I do not recommend their trip planner. Instead, I recommend looking up the bus and train routes that are near your starting and ending points. In Chestnut Hill, Mt. Airy, and Germantown, the R7 and R8 regional rail lines take travelers into Center City Philadelphia. Some trains go one stop past 30th Street Station to University City, which deposits you right next to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropolgy. The R7 has convenient links to, and on the weekdays takes you right through to, Trenton's Transit Center, where you can catch trains up to New York city, which is another trip we will take within the next year in order to visit the Museum of Natural History and the Staten Island Ferry.
Finally, I have not tried this yet, but a GAP family could also take the R7 downtown and then catch the PATCO high speed line into Camden to the Adventure Aquarium and Camden Children’s Garden. Sadly, the bus routes from Chestnut Hill, Mt. Airy, and Germantown into Center City are less convenient than those from neighboring Roxborough, from where you can take the 9 or 21 bus to and from Center City, and the 27 bus in the other direction to the Plymouth Meeting Mall. You can park and ride from the Wissahickon Train Station on Ridge Avenue.
Knowing the importance of avoiding setbacks when traveling with toddlers, I had researched the train schedules and fares online up to the day before our odyssey. But, when we had boarded and were told we would have to switch trains in Center City, the conductor responded to my quizzical look with the incantation “Welcome to SEPTA-land.” So, be flexible and ready to ask questions – conductors and ticket sellers are helpful and knowledgeable – and sympathetic.
The third leg of our odyssey, which saw us boarding the New Jersey Transit train (after we had to run upstairs to buy tickets), offered its own reward: the train was very clean and bright, and it was a double decker! We sat on the upper deck for a better view and rode 40 minutes to our destination.
The New Jersey Transit trains do have restrooms, but I brought diapers just in case and limited pre-travel imbibing. Also, for the ride home, my child was dressed for bed. I recommend, just as on plane trips, bringing along a few new paperback books and a few markers with a coloring book or blank paper. However, we also entertained ourselves with sugar free bubble gum and hand-play games, people watching and taking pictures with our cell phone.
The third leg of our odyssey, which saw us boarding the New Jersey Transit train (after we had to run upstairs to buy tickets), offered its own reward: the train was very clean and bright, and it was a double decker! We sat on the upper deck for a better view and rode 40 minutes to our destination.
The New Jersey Transit trains do have restrooms, but I brought diapers just in case and limited pre-travel imbibing. Also, for the ride home, my child was dressed for bed. I recommend, just as on plane trips, bringing along a few new paperback books and a few markers with a coloring book or blank paper. However, we also entertained ourselves with sugar free bubble gum and hand-play games, people watching and taking pictures with our cell phone.
Here's wishing you happy trails!
1 Comment:
This is so detailed and helpful. Great idea to skip the car and save the environment. EJ
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