A Rockland County woman has launched a website to track instances when Hudson Link buses fail to arrive, hoping to highlight ongoing reliability issues for commuters traveling between Rockland and Westchester counties.
Nyack resident Carley Hart created FixHudsonLink.com after she says buses did not show up for both legs of her commute into New York City two weeks ago. She coded the site right then, sitting at the bus stop in White Plains, using AI. She says it was not the first time she had been “ghosted” by the service.
"It's going well. If you want to say going well is that the buses aren't showing up a lot, and so we've been accurately tracking all of that," Hart said when asked how the site is going since it was rolled out.
Hart, a mother of two young children, says the no‑shows made commuting increasingly difficult.
"I'm a mom. I have a 2- and 5-year-old. They have to go to school, 9 to 5. So really, I don't have the space to let the bus not come that frequently," she said.
Through her website, riders can report when a bus fails to arrive and submit forms to notify officials. In less than two weeks, Hart says the site has already logged 17 “ghost buses” reported by passengers. It's not just for Rockland commuters.
"Anybody can track. One of the big things I've been kind of saying is that like, Rockland County can't call itself the New York City Metro Area if we're not connected to the New York City metro," Hart said.
Hart has also sent a letter to the New York State Department of Transportation, which funds the Hudson Link service, outlining the issues and what she believes needs improvement. Her main goal is to push for more reliable service.
Other riders say they have experienced similar issues. Nyack resident Fuan Tan said, "The bus drivers are so sweet. They're so nice. But I think the regularity should be improved."
For many commuters, a missed Hudson Link bus can mean being stranded and unable to reach connecting trains into New York City.
The New York State Department of Transportation says it welcomes feedback from Hudson Link riders and encourages them to submit comments through its website.