Story Archive

Super Commuters

Zach Schwitzky and Eric Barber, both 29 and executives in the Manhattan section of New York, N.Y., were tired of taking the bus every day from their homes in Newark, N.J. “We’re not a huge fan of public transportation,” Barber said. “We wanted to do something that was a little more eco-friendly and we said, you know what? We love the outdoors. We love to kayak. Why is it out of the question to kayak to work?” So now they do, daily. While drivers fight toll booths and traffic snarls, Schwitzky and Barber dodge ferries and barges. “They don’t see us,” Schwitzky says, “we see them.” They have told others about what they do, and now others are talking with them about setting up a kayaking commuting community. “We’re hoping to get the community together and go from two, to four, to 10, to 15,” Schwitzky said. “Then the boats will get out of our way.” (MS/Newark Star-Ledger) ...And it will be the other commuters who are all wet.