Free HOP Bus service to expand
Mayor Ravi S. Bhalla and the Hoboken Transportation Department are pleased to announce the addition of two new HOP buses. The two new HOP buses will help improve service reliability, and increase frequency during peak periods. During the first phase beginning on March 2, the Blue HOP will have a second bus on weekdays between 7 am and 10 am. Within the coming weeks, the second phase includes an additional bus on the Green HOP during the evenings between 6 pm and 8 pm. The new HOP buses will be added to the routes displayed in the new mobile application, “Passio Go”, which shows the locations of each bus and the routes in real time on a map.
In 2019, the HOP bus service had record ridership with over 223,000 trips taken compared to 173,000 from a year before, reflecting nearly a 30% increase. This came after the City of Hoboken in March of 2019, began using parking revenues to make all HOP rides free of charge to the public, to encourage the use of the shared mobility option.
“Our HOP bus service provides a critical first-mile, last-mile transportation option for our residents, and I’m very pleased that we are expanding the service during peak periods,” said Mayor Bhalla. “More residents utilizing the HOP provides an additional convenience, cost savings for those who need it, improves access and mobility in areas least served by public transit, and reduces our city’s carbon emissions. I encourage everyone to utilize this free option to connect to transit hubs, visit our local businesses, and travel around our city.”
Expanding alternative and shared transportation options is a component of Hoboken’s Climate Action Plan to reduce carbon emissions and exceed the goals of the Paris Agreement by 2050.
Resident Permits
Please be advised that as per an ordinance passed by the City Council, beginning Monday, March 2, prices of Resident Parking Permits will be as follows:
- 1st vehicle in household: $52/year ($0.14 per day, $1/week)
- 2nd vehicle in household: $104/year ($0.28 per day, $2/week)
- 3rd vehicle in household: $208/year ($0.57 per day, $4/week)
Senior citizens (62 years old or greater), veterans of the United States military, and persons with disabilities will be eligible for a 50% discount ($26) on Resident Permits. This is the first price adjustment of Resident Parking Permits in Hoboken in approximately 15 years, and is necessary to keep pace with annual increases in the cost to administer Hoboken's Resident Permit Parking program.
New Virtual Visitor Permits
All residents with a valid HPU Online account are now eligible to purchase and activate virtual visitor permits online. The new virtual visitor permit (VVP) system allows visitor permits to be purchased from any internet-enabled computer, tablet, or smartphone, offering a faster and more convenient way for Hoboken residents to purchase and manage their visitor permits. The VVP system adds many improvements over scratch off hang tags, including:
- Convenience; purchase and activate from any internet-enabled device - no need to trek down to the HPU customer service window to purchase or pick up scratch off hangs and no need for a trip out to your vehicle to place a hang tag on the rearview mirror;
- Notifications system; your visitors can receive a text message upon VVP activation and an alert 30 minutes prior to the expiration of the permit;
- Future-date activations; no need to wait for your guest to arrive in Hoboken - VVPs can be activated for a future date and time so that your guests have valid visitor permits the moment they enter Hoboken;
- Flexibility; choose a visitor permit duration that better fits the length of time your guest is visiting. With VVPs, you can select 4-hour permits, 8-hour permits, or 24-hour permits;
- Online account history and permit management portal; never worry about misplacing hang tags or trying to figure out your usage history again. Now you can easily see a record of your virtual visitor permit purchases and activations, and unused activations are simply stored in your online account.
Please note: there is
no change to the enforcement procedures on Sundays as it relates to visitor permits.
For more information about virtual visitor permits, including tutorial videos, please visit
https://www.hobokennj.gov/resources/virtual-visitor-parking-permits-vvp. HPU will continue selling the scratch off visitor hang tags through December 31, 2020, and the hang tags can be used through December 31, 2021.
Increasing parking availability and turnover
As per the new regulations set forth in an ordinance passed by the Hoboken City Council and supported by the Hoboken Chamber of Commerce, new meter rates in business districts will become $2.00 per hour ($0.50 per 15 minutes) during the week of March 9. The adjusted meter rates will also coincide with a discount employee parking program. Employees of Hoboken-based businesses will be eligible for a discount parking rate of $5 for 12 hours in Garages B (28 2
nd Street), D (215 Hudson Street), and Midtown (371 4
th Street). At $5 for 12 hours, employees will be able to save 69% each day compared to parking on-street and feeding the meter for eight hours. The new meter rates are designed to help increase parking turnover in the business districts, to improve parking availability and convenience.
