Striking locomotive engineers are outside the station on Friday, calling for change, while commuters are dealing with the first day of no NJ Transit train service.
"We're always open to getting a collective bargaining agreement," said BLET National Chairman Mark Wallace. "We've been trying to get one for the last six years with this carrier. And our members are tired. They're fed up."
Friday's commute brought anxiety for riders as engineers walked off the job, the state's first transit strike in more than 40 years.
Commuters adjusting to travel alternatives during NJ Transit strike
Commuter Athena DeNivo left an hour early Friday morning from New Providence.
"I don't know. We'll see how the commute home goes, and how next week goes," DeNivo said.
"It wasn't that crowded, but it's a Friday and most Fridays are probably hybrid days for a lot of people who really don't work on Fridays," another commuter told Eyewitness News.
The Port Authority said customers can expect crowded conditions during peak hours and should allow extra travel time.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is providing additional staff to assist with passenger navigation and crowd management.
Commuters scramble for alternatives on Day 1 of NJ Transit strike
To alleviate some of the stress, NJ Transit is also providing a team of customer care workers to help people navigate at Newark Penn Station amid the major disruption in travel.
They are wearing bright orange shirts to travelers can easily spot them.
The workers said they were encountering many people who weren't aware of the strike and the suspended services. Now, those customers had to scramble to find another way to get to their destination.
"I'm just trying to figure it out," said Aaron Scott, a traveler. "I've been trying to get to New Brunswick. This is crazy."
There are signs up at stations and caution tape on the doors leading to some tracks to block access. Only the doors leading to the PATH and Amtrak trains are open.
NJ Transit's plan for commuter bus alternatives won't start until Monday
In Hoboken, the NJ Transit train platforms were fenced off and the board of schedules was blank.
The silence is especially concerning for Daisy Mckeon, the owner of Trackside Jo.
"It was eerie. It was weird to see no trains. It was weird to see nobody during rush hour times," Mckeon said.
This small shop sits right next to the train tracks.
It opened inside the more than century-old terminal a month ago, catering specifically to commuters.
But with no train engineers and no train riders to serve and almost no customers stopping by on their way to ride the PATH trains, light rail or ferries, she closed up shop before noon on Friday.
She says she's heading into the weekend worried about what's next.
"If it lasts a weekend or anything more than that, it's scary because I do have staff that I'm worried workers might leave. Some of the fresh food that we have will be thrown out. That's a big waste for us. So, um, and then we've just gotten the momentum of people knowing that we're here. So then to close it down is kind of, it would be detrimental," Mckeon said.
Small businesses that rely on commuters bracing for losses as result of NJ Transit strike
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Alternate commuter options during the NJ Transit rail strike
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