This review is for the Community Lines, Inc. mass transportation service that runs up Kennedy Blvd In Jersey City and Union City and into Gate 51 of Port Authority in New York City. I take this van line everyday. It is a decent service at a reasonable price. Here are the pros and cons. Pros: Runs frequently; Cost is not excessive (currently $3/trip or $2.50 with purchase of tickets to NYC, local fare is $1.50); Average trip time is not usually long Cons: NYC tickets can only be purchased in a limited time period on weekdays at Port Authority. From sometime around 2 or 3pm until sometime in the evening; NYC tickets can only be purchased with cash or TransitChek. Credit cards are not accepted. Many drivers do not speak English; Drivers frequently drive extremely slow and stop at green lights when they are trying to get more fares (think longer morning commute); Drivers will take a longer alternate route in an attempt to get more fares If there are not "enough fares" on board, drivers will have passengers get off at the last stop and board another van which is close to being full. Some drivers will pass by stops with one or two people even in inclement weather; Seating on some vans does not have sufficient legroom for average height people. (i'm 5'5",112 lbs and have encountered some serious legroom issues); Some drivers smoke on the vans prior to passenger boarding; Summertime AC is definitely an issue on most of the vans; This is not the company's fault per se but people who use their cell phones while in transit tend to speak on their cell phones as if they are in their own home. Even when it is obnoxiously loud the drivers say nothing. Overall, It is okay and definitely the fastest option commuting from the Heights or Union City but I can't wait to move somewhere that has a more mainstream commuting option. I gave it three starts but I would really rate it a 2.5. read more

Terrible service probably run by mafia! Do not give them money! They only take cash with is a red flag. The stuff is extremely unprofessional and rude! read more

I want to begin with saying I know what to expect when I take the 51 Community Line Bus to NYC and Back but out of necessity I occasional need to do commute. On June 26th 2026 Between 11am - 11:30 am. I was heading back to JC. So, I sat and waited for the 51 Bus to arrive. BUS 102 came and the passenger disembarked then I proceeded to enter the bus. The Young Man i.e. the Driver in his late 20's early 30's said he is not taken any passengers. I existed the bus and when back to my seat less than 2 mins several passenger came and he took all of them so I proceeded to the Bus and ask are taking passengers. He said nothing and took my fair. We departed shortly with about 5 to 7 passengers and once across the driver the passengers disembarked along JFK Blvd. I was the last one on the Bus and the told me to get off the Bus he is not going to Journal Sq then proceeded to tell me that was the reason why he said he was not taking passengers. To be fair to him he gave me back 1/2 the fair but that is not the issue. The real issue is the level of Professionalism exhibited by these drivers and I know that it can go both away but I was not rude or disrespectful. read more

During covid ! Really 20+ passengers in these small buses ! Horrible this shouldn't be allowed - unsafe 100%

During these grim times of a pandemic, you would hope business's would be extra careful. Well I guess wrong. They pack their bus!!!! Waited at Port Authority. On the bus for 30min to leave. He waited till every seat was taken. This morning another driver waited at post office for the same. read more

Community Lines - Filled bus - Public Transportation Near Me - Jersey City, New Jersey

I have not taken the hate 51 bus to NYC since March 20. I have tickets that I purchased in early March. When I tried to return them for a refund I was told that the tickets were good and not to worry... we'll, I had to take the bus, and the driver was not happy with my ticket. I was told to go to their main office in Jersey City for a refund. That is not acceptable and very inconvenient. Also, as I walk along Kennedy Blvd, I look at the buses to see if the drivers are wearing masks. In a 20 block walk/20 minutes, I see at least two buses go buy with mask-less drivers. These buses are never clean to begin with but now feel like COVID death traps, overcrowded and no masks. read more

This review is for community lines buses running on Kennedy Blvd in Jersey City (from journal square) to Gate 51 at Port Authority Bus Terminal(New York) via Lincoln tunnel. The buses are very frequent (every 2-5 min) in peak time and leave the terminal every few minutes as soon as it gets full. They even run on weekends and are little less frequent for weekends. There are no specific schedules available, you just walk to the nearest bus stop and take the next bus. The last bus from gate 51 is at 1 am. Though there are some issues with the legroom and AC in some buses, they are best for the price and convenience. The best thing was - it was running till late evening during 2018 winter storm when NJ transit stopped it's service at 3 pm. Price is $3.50 cash right now (or $3.00 discounted ticket from window 23 at PABT) for New York and $1.50 cash for local. Overall - it is good for daily commuters. read more

I give 1 star because there is not 0, worst transportation ever, I just took a bus number 88 from jersey city to new york with almost no Ac was soo hot inside how this people can carry us like that? read more

This business is exploiting its customers because they are the only regular option. Their discounted tickets expire after a few weeks, even when the rate doesn't go up, which is highly unethical. I have filed a complaint against them with the Jersey City Business affairs office and encourage others to do the same. read more

The worse thing happened to me last is doing at 16hour shift then going to wait for the Gates 51 bus at 9:15 and waited till 10pm then for someone to tell me and 15 other ppl waiting that when there is nobody in the boot that means n9 more busses work, how are we supposed to know this? On the bus it says 10:30 last bus but actually they stop working by 9 or 9:15pm, ppl are stranded looking for others ways to get home after waiting almost a hour, atleast leave a sign saying no more busses, why have ppl waiting that long? Give the ppl the correct information so they find a other way home than waiting hours for the bus, most ppl are tired and depends on the bus but atleast leave a sign out so ppl don't waste time to get home that late, very unprofessional, hope this meets the right ppl!! read more

I have never experienced a more disrespectful kind of people driving these buses they talk about private things nobody wants to hear they take off while elderly are trying to sit. read more

Drivers are reckless. Driving down Kennedy Blvd. The community lines driver has zero regard for the fact that a car was in the other lane. Even when the driver of the car honked the horn because they had no where to go to get away from the bus, the bus driver proceeded to swerve back into their lane and still make the attempt to change lanes into this vehicle. These drivers need to be more aware and safe especially when transporting and having people's lives in their hands. read more

Listen, my wife and I moved to New Jersey from Astoria Queens. I would take Community Line jitneys over the MTA any day of the week !!! Sure there are problems ( most if not all have been listed by previous reviewers- and quite humorously !! ) but I always get to where I need to go quickly. The longest I've had to wait for a bus has been 12 minutes. It can be tightly packed at times but again a FAR CRY BETTER than the awful MTA -as a matter of fact if NY Politicians actually CARED about their Constituents they'd encourage these types of para transportation systems to flourish in NYC and the outlying Boroughs to get people back and forth from work in a timely,decent fashion. NJ Transit doesn't seem to be afraid, or even care, about the competition unlike the graft ridden MTA. read more

Today 6/23/2019, I was driving on 95 South around Aberdeen. I was in the left lane and one of your buses (Bus 12) was in the middle lane directly next to me. All of a sudden the bus started to move into my lane, I laid on my horn but your driver paid no attention and keep coming into my lane. I had to swerve on to the shoulder to avoid having this idiot hit me and causing an accident. Traffic was very heavy in all the lanes. This man has no business driving period! I would appreciate hearing from someone in charge about this incident but I will try to reach someone tomorrow. I rethought about giving you my whole name, phone number and or my email address. Kat R. read more

This line has been so disappointing during these trying times that i am disgusted. I am an essential worker commuting everyday between Jersey and Brooklyn back and forth to the Hospital I work for. Everyday, I try my best to get to the bus stop from Jersey to Port Authority with some waiting, but never the less I know one is coming. However going back to Jersey is a hit or miss on whether it will take me an additional 1.5 hours to get home. Sometimes there's a bus and sometimes there isn't one. If I get there by 6:20 pm and I see no bus, I should just go back into port authority and catch Jersey transit. There is no one there from the service advising on the bus arrivals or whether or not there are still any buses coming at all. Not even a sign! I understand that you may have limited buses wanting to come to the city because you loose money, but please don't keep changing the time of the last bus without alerting the public who relays on them to get around. All I know Is that I will make it my business to stop using them moving forward. read more

Bus is very unsafe drivers talk on the phone and refuse to let people off they miss stops because they refuse to get off the phone and pay attention. I had to get on another bus in the opposite direction to get back to where I was supposed to be. If you call the company to complain they hang up on you. The employee who answered the phone made it clear that their employees regularly break the law and company policy but she could care less she was extremely unprofessional and rude read more

I do not write reviews at all. During the pandemic, as of 09/16/20, the driver packs the bus to the full capacity from Port Authority. Very disappointed and frustrated at the regulations not implemented at all to these lines. They should be penalized, no doubt about it. I had to get off the bus and take a cab to Jersey to avoid the crowded bus. I hope the authority does something about it. read more

I have used their buses to go to nyc and back. Very clean vehicle , very professional driver. In addition, it was fast and smooth trip.

Horrible drivers,wait around at green lights for nobody to show up with the doors open. Super loud and the buses are in terrible condition. Took them for 1 year until I realized NJT 123/125 cheaper and great ride. read more

The only reason I do not give 1 star is because I actually still suffer my commutes with Community Lines. My commuting costs would almost double if I traveled NJTransit. If I were to recommend changes these are what they would be: 01. There should be a standard of maintenance and and cleanliness for every bus and driver on the line. This varies greatly from bus to bus/driver to driver. I have been on too many rides where the bus just dies on the side of the road or in the tunnel. 02. Please give the poor woman at the ticket window a calculator or something. With the recent price increase the math just slows her down to a standstill. People give her exact change and it's a problem. She's a wonderful woman, but the recent change has made it hard for her. 03. The drivers compete too aggressively for fares. There are times where they are driving quite recklessly and I fear for our safety and other times we'll sit at traffic lights for 3-4 cycles while the driver prays someone will walk up to the stop. It's as if the drivers forget that there are 25-50 people sitting behind them. 04. The supervisors at gate 51 need to deal hard with people cutting in line. They just let it happen, it pisses people off and is not fair. They cut in at the door of the landing, at the bottom of the stairs and some even walk up to the buses from the street entrance and cut everyone. Please guys, put on your man pants and send these people to the end of the line. There are two of you, you can do it. I have faith in you. 05. If you're going to put signs up about how dangerous it is to let people off on 40th street, then enforce it. If not, take all the signs down. You lose credibility this way. I should also say that I don't care either way, I'm just tired of staring at the signs on some buses and watching drivers let people off as early as Dyer and 40th. 06. Most drivers are good about this, but some just blow through stops on the way home. Like they're in a rush to beat the driver in front of them. I hear all these people call for stops and then watch as the bus blows by it. PLEASE, put down the phone, turn off the bluetooth headset and pay attention. 07. Most of my rides, especially in the mornings, feel like I'm in a phone booth. There are 20 phone conversations going on at the same time and often the driver is one of them. If you're going to have the signs up about no eating, drinking, smoking, music and phones then please enforce it. 08. The Artist Driver...What can I say. I know so many passengers who just won't get on his bus. He is the most reckless of all the drivers. Blows through so many stops it's as if we're being kidnapped. He rushes everyone out of the bus (RIGHT HERE! RIGHT HERE!). There have been days when he opens the door while still driving, like he wants us to do a tuck and roll and get the hell out of his bus. It really is such a horrible experience. And forget about when the weather is bad, like snow. Thank god he hasn't played his CD's while we're in there. This line provides a great service for the people in Union City and Jersey City, I just wish it was ran professionally. read more

The worst bus line ever! They're unprofessional, unsafe and unsanitary! ALL their drivers are constantly on the phone... ALL OF THEM! They don't have consistent schedules especially on weekends. More often than not you wait for upwards of 30 minutes for a bus on a Sunday night to NYC and when it finally shows up the driver says he's not going to NY and drops you off on Bergenline to catch a real bus. I've had drivers drop me off a stop or two before mine because they want to go home or turn around to go the opposite way. I've had drivers even drop me off half way home and tell me to wait for the next bus in the rain. They get you to buy tickets at a discounted fair but either they don't run so you have to pay for a NJTransit bus and waste the ticket or the drivers tell you flat out they don't take the tickets. This bus line needs to get shut down and NJTransit needs to step up their service between Port Authority and Journal Square. read more

Reviewed: 2013/August (restored from lost profile) "Below review is spot on. We rode them a few times over a week traveling between NJ and NYC. We experienced everything previously described." read more

10 people currently waiting for a bus i dont believe is comming , this is the 3rd time ive arrived on a sunday night at 8:15 its now 9:04 and no bus in site , the sign left suggests the bus will be in service until 10 it never is. its more reliable to go new jersey transit. you cannot rely on a service that consistently leaves its customers both uninformed and stranded. read more

Community Lines is good if you're running late or going to NJ at night when NJ transit isn't running. I give this service 2 stars b/c even though with the raise fare you'd expect air conditioning or heat to work during the appropriate seasons or the bus be a little more pleasant to be in. With summer in full blast the conditions on the bus have worsen. There is either no air on the bus or there is air when you walk in and the driver shuts it off mid-trip. In the past two days I've had the pleasure (sarcasm) to experience both. I walked into the bus and turned around to walk out b/c it was incredibly hot inside the bus. The driver said the air was on and it will get colder once the doors are closed. Of course in a rush to get home, I sat back down. In the end, I walked out of the bus dripping sweat, dehydrated and feeling nauseous b/c the a/c was indeed NOT WORKING and the driver wanted to fill the seats on the bus. Today, I get on the bus and the ac is working and then the driver shuts it off. I asked the driver to turn the air back on and he pretended there was a malfunction. Having no air conditioning on the bus in this extreme weather can cause a serious health risk to your passengers (stroke, heat exhaustion, fainting, to name a few). I hope the bus line considers these health risk and fix the issues with the buses. Please tell your drivers that the air condition should be on or you can have a liability suit against you. read more

I take this because it's my only realistic option. In addition to other reviewer's comments, the drivers often cut each other off trying to pick up more fares. I'm resigned to the fact that it's just a matter of time before I'm in an accident in one of these. read more