NY Times reporter Billie Cohen, who’s commuting from a different corner of the New York metropolitan area every day this month, tipped a few with the regulars on the New Haven Line bar car.

“There was beer everywhere, a crowd at the bar, a bunch of people playing poker and a din of friendly talk and loud laughter. What was this place? It was definitely not the normal commute home,” she writes about Wednesday’s 5:23 to Bridgeport. “It had the feel of, well, a party.”

Cohen mentions people falling in love in the bar car, and some of the regulars assigning Cheers characters to each other. (I’m Norm. No, I’m Norm!)

She also rightfully points out the New Haven Line’s mechanical shortcomings. “The equipment on this line is the oldest in the Metro-North fleet,” she says, “and is subject to many hiccups.

But Cohen saves the best part for last–a little perspective from a seasoned conductor who’s none other than Bobby McDonough, author of the esteemed Derailed blog and the subject of our seminal Q&A on rude riders and transvestites.

“I’m not really a fan of the bar car,” said McDonough. “Everyone thinks they’re funny when they’ve had two drinks in them. They’re not.”

Billie Cohen, who’s subjecting herself to a steady diet of planes, trains and automobiles for a daily column on commuting in the tri-state area, tested out Metro-North on its stellar Hudson Line.

What did she find? Valet parking, armrests that are prone to tear clothing, nice views and relaxed commuters.

“I think people on the Hudson line are a lot happier because of the view,” said Michael Scott, who grew up along this river-hugging Metro-North route and now commutes from Scarborough. “People pay for vacations with that kind of view. On the Harlem or New Haven lines, they’re probably a lot grumpier.”

Hey, Michael Scott, shouldn’t you be commuting to Scranton or something?

The Real Estate section of the NY Times has kicked off a month-long feature that sees the reporter try out different commutes from different corners of the Metro area. It feels a bit like Nick Paumgarten’s seminal New Yorker story on commuting — breaking down the trade-off of having a sizeable home and a mostly unpalatable schlep to work versus living in a cardboard box and being able to walk to work. But it thus far only scratches of the surface of a complex topic that Paumgarten truly nailed.  

To be honest, there’s sort of a snooty ‘I’m slumming it’ tone to the Times feature, as in, ‘Today, I ride the subway with laborers, minorities, and maybe even a homeless man to find out how 98% of the city gets around each day.”

To wit:

To explore this phenomenon, we are embarking on a mission. For the month of January, we will ride to and from work with some of the New York area’s commuting millions.

Most of us millions don’t really see it as a “mission.” We’re just going to work.

One interesting factoid reporter Billie Cohen unearths: Nearly 40% of all U.S. “transit” commuters hail in the New York Metro area. Furthermore, 25% of area residents take “transit” to get to work; Chicago is second with 11.5%.