BUS RAPID TRANSIT SYSTEM ALONG ROUTE 1 CORRIDOR TO BE STUDIED

System Could Offer Alternative Travel for Traffic Clogged Roadway

NEWARK, NJ, November 12, 2003 – Today the Board of Directors unanimously approved a $614,000 contract, which will allow a transportation consortium to do an Alternative Analysis study to evaluate the feasibility of a possible Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system on the Route 1 corridor in central New Jersey.

NJ TRANSIT is participating in the Central New Jersey Transportation Forum, a regional planning group working to define and evaluate long-range transportation strategies and projects. The Forum, made up of the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, New Jersey Department of Transportation, and NJ TRANSIT, will evaluate whether the findings of a BRT system, consisting of a combination of dedicated roadways, priority given to buses on arterial roadways and at intersections, could significantly increase transit use in the area and provide an alternative to automobile travel.

The study is being done by STV Inc., of New York, and will draw on these concepts to determine the applicability of BRT to the corridor.

“New Jersey motorists have declared Route 1 the worst highway in the state,” said NJ TRANSIT Board Chairman and State Transportation Commissioner Jack Lettiere. “Currently, the corridor is experiencing considerable growth and increasing traffic congestion, and there is limited public transportation in the area to provide alternate travel to ease congested roadways.”

“This is a potentially creative approach to congestion,” said NJ TRANSIT Executive Director George D. Warrington. “I’m pleased to work with this group of transportation professionals to examine the best possible solution to this problem.”

NJ TRANSIT is the nation's largest statewide public transportation system providing more than 752,600 daily trips on 240 bus routes, two light rail lines and 11 commuter rail lines. It is the third largest transit system in the country with 162 rail stations, 28 light rail stations and more than 17,000 bus stops linking major points in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia.