Commuter Resources

Orange County is a vital point of connection for transportation in the New York City Metropolitan Area, the Hudson Valley, New York State and the Eastern Seaboard. In Orange County, 13% of residents in the workforce commute to New York City, and 27.6% commute out of the County for work. Orange County also has the 7th-highest commute time in New York State, with an average commute of 33.5 minutes compared to the national average of 26.6 minutes.

The Orange County Transportation Council is dedicated to reducing air pollution in our region and minimizing the negative effects of congestion.  This can be done by reducing the number of Single Occupancy Vehicles (SOV) on our roads.  Orange County has many options available, including Carpooling and Vanpooling programs, Park and Ride Lots, Regional Bus Service, and MTA Metro-North Service on the Port Jervis Line.

Graphic showing Orange County Residents Commuting Out of County

Commuter Graphic from Transportation Chapter of Orange County Comprehensive Plan (2019)

Commuting and COVID-19

As New York State and our community in Orange County responds to the COVID-19 Pandemic, it is important to maintain the most up-to-date health regulations. To stay informed, check resources like the www.Coronavirus.gov, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH), and Orange County Department of Health regularly. Protect yourself from COVID-19 when using transportation including: public transit, rideshares and taxis, micro-mobility devices, and personal vehicles by following these general principles:

  • Stay up-to-date on information concerning COVID-19
  • Practice hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette
  • Avoid touching surfaces
  • Practice safe social distance
  • Wear a mask
  • Avoid riding with unmasked drivers or passengers
  • Clean and disinfect surfaces
  • Improve ventilation
  • Stay home when appropriate

For more information regarding COVID-19 and transportation, visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/using-transportation.html

Carpooling and Vanpooling

Carpools and vanpools are ride-sharing programs where 2+ people in a car, or 7-15 people in a van, travel to and from work together. Carpooling and Vanpooling are a convenient, cost-effective, and efficient way to commute.

511NY Rideshare

The 511NY platform allows you to find other commuters, close to your home or work address, or those along your route. 511NY Rideshare offers ride matching for carpools and vanpools, a Guaranteed Ride Program, so regular users are never left stranded, as well as resources for transit, park and ride lots, bicycling, walking, and telework. Use the “Find a Carpool Quick Match” tool below to see your options. 

Find a Carpool Quick Match: Find potential carpool partners by entering your start and destination addresses in the tool below. You will be brought to your Carpool Matches page to view your match results. Once you receive your matches, simply log in or create an account to contact them and start ridesharing.

Follow 511NY Rideshare on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the latest information and updates on commuting and traveling in New York.

Bus Service

Commuter bus service in Orange, which leaves from the many park & ride lots throughout the county, typically provides service between Orange County and New York City. Coach USA/ShortLine, the intercity carrier, provides significant local service throughout the county (not to all communities,) as well as other regional service. These commuter and regional transit services provide the majority of trips for Orange County with approximately two million passengers annually.

For the most up-date information, visit the Transit Orange Website.

Passenger Train

Orange County is served by MTA Metro-North Railroad’s Port Jervis Line through a service contract with New Jersey Transit (NJT) and by the Metro-North Hudson Line on the East side of the Hudson River. The Port Jervis train line operated by Metro-North is the only passenger rail line in the County. Service currently runs from seven stations in Orange County to Hoboken and the Secaucus Transfer Station (as well as other rail station stops in New Jersey). From the new station in Secaucus, passengers may connect with other New Jersey Transit service to NY Penn Station in midtown Manhattan (or to other NJT services, including a connection for Amtrak service at Newark Penn Station). Port Jervis Line passengers may also connect with the Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) service or NY Waterway ferry service in Hoboken for access to lower Manhattan.

If you have a disability and would like help getting on or off a Metro-North train, Metro-North offers a complimentary Call Ahead Program. You may request help by dialing 511 at least 15 minutes before your trip. Customers can learn more about accessible stations by visiting https://new.mta.info/accessibility/stations

Freight

Due to its location at the crossing of Interstates 84, 87, and Route 17 (future I-86), together with the rivers, airports, and rail lines, Orange County is an important center and conduit for freight movements. The majority of freight traffic in Orange County is shipped by trucks. There are 48 local freight movers and 36 long distance freight companies located within the County.

Commercial Routing Assistance Tool

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and Idaho National Laboratory (INL) launched a new Commercial Routing Assistance (CRA) tool for truckers and other commercial drivers in the U.S. This free app incorporates coordinated data streams and plots multiple routing options so commercial operators can plan and manage vehicle movements across multiple states quickly in times of disasters or other restrictions. This app leverages coordinated data streams provided by the All Hazards Consortium (AHC) Sensitive Information Sharing Environment (SISE) to visualize and streamline commercial vehicle movement across multiple states by aggregating documents, information, and data relevant to the logistics industry in times of restricted operations.For more information and access to the Commercial Routing Assistance (CRA) tool landing page, visit https://cra.inl.gov .