CHRISTIE ADMINISTRATION EXPANDS "MYBUS NOW" PROGRAM TO NORTH JERSEY BUS ROUTES

Real-time service information pilot now available throughout New Jersey

June 17, 2013
NJT-13-046

NEWARK, NJ — Marking the next step in the Christie Administration’s efforts to provide real-time bus information to NJ TRANSIT customers, NJ TRANSIT Executive Director James Weinstein today joined customers and invited guests at Newark Penn Station to announce the latest expansion of MyBus Now, the agency’s first real-time service information system for bus customers, to serve 110 North Jersey-area local/intrastate bus routes—making it available throughout the Garden State.

“MyBus Now places real-time bus location and arrival information literally in the palms of our customers’ hands, enabling them to make informed decisions about their travel, even while on the go,” said Executive Director Weinstein. “This next phase enables us to provide this customer amenity throughout New Jersey. The final phase will include bus service traveling into and out of the Port Authority and George Washington Bridge bus terminals by the end of the year.”

MyBus Now, which first launched in fall 2012 as a pilot program serving Trenton-area bus customers and was expanded in April 2013 to include South Jersey and Philadelphia-area bus routes, uses “smart bus” technology to provide customers with access to real-time bus arrival estimates to a specific bus stop within a 30-minute window. Customers can access the information in three ways: from a desktop computer through njtransit.com, from a web-enabled smartphone through the mobile version of njtransit.com, and via SMS-text messaging directly to their cell phones.

Starting today, customers of local/intrastate bus routes that serve communities throughout North Jersey will be able to use MyBus Now to access real-time service information. The 110 bus routes include:

No. 1 Newark
No. 2 Jersey City - Journal Square - Secaucus
No. 5 Kinney
No. 6 Ocean Avenue - Journal Square
No. 10 Bayonne - Jersey City
No. 11 Newark - Willowbrook
No. 13 Broad Street - Clinton Avenue
No. 21 Main Street
No. 22 North Bergen - Union City - Hoboken
No. 23 North Bergen - Weehawken - Hoboken
No. 25 Springfield Avenue
GO 25 (No. 250 Go Bus Springfield Ave. BRT)
No. 26 Irvington - Elizabeth
No. 27 Mount Prospect
GO 28 (No. 258 Go Bus Newark Airport - Newark – Bloomfield)
No. 28 Newark - Montclair State - Willowbrook
No. 29 Bloomfield Avenue
No. 30 North Arlington - Kearny - Newark
No. 34 Market Street
No. 37 Lyons Avenue
No. 39 Irvington - Newark
No. 40 Kearny - Jersey Gardens
No. 41 Park Avenue
No. 48 Elizabeth - Woodbridge - Perth Amboy
No. 52 Morris Avenue
No. 56 Elizabeth - Winfield
No. 57 Tremley
No. 58 Elizabeth - Kenilworth
No. 59 Plainfield - Newark
No. 62 Newark - Newark Airport - Elizabeth
No. 65 Newark - Somerville
No. 66 Newark - Mountainside
No. 70 Newark - Livingston Mall
No. 71 Newark - West Caldwell
No. 72 Paterson - Bloomfield - Newark
No. 73 Newark - Orange - Livingston
No. 74 Paterson - Nutley - Newark
No. 76 Newark - Hackensack
No. 78 Newark - Secaucus
No. 79 Newark - Parsippany Express
No. 80 Greenville - Journal Square - Exchange Place
No. 81 Bayonne - Jersey City
No. 82 Union City - Jersey City - Exchange Place
No. 83 Hackensack - Jersey City - Journal Square
No. 84 North Bergen - Jersey City - Journal Square
No. 85 Mill Creek - Harmon Meadow - Hoboken
No. 86 Union City - Jersey City - Newport Centre Mall
No. 87 Jersey City - Hoboken
No. 88 North Bergen - Jersey City - Journal Square
No. 89 North Bergen - Hoboken
No. 90 Grove Street Crosstown
No. 92 Orange Crosstown
No. 94 Stuyvesant Crosstown
No. 96 18th Street Crosstown
No. 97 East Orange - Montclair
No. 99 Clifton Avenue Crosstown
No. 329 Harmon Cove - Secaucus Junction
No. 361 Newark Express
No. 375 Springfield Avenue Line Express
No. 378 Newark - Secaucus Express
No. 702 Paterson - Elmwood Park
No. 703 Haledon - Paterson - East Rutherford
No. 704 Paterson - Willowbrook Mall
No. 705 Passaic - Willowbrook Mall
No. 707 Paterson - Paramus
No. 709 Bloomfield - Passaic - Paramus
No. 712 Hackensack - Paterson - Willowbrook Mall
No. 712 Paterson Seasonal Service
No. 722 Paterson - Paramus Park
No. 744 Passaic - Paterson - Wayne
No. 746 Ridgewood - Paterson
No. 748 Paterson - Wayne
No. 751 Paramus - Cliffside Park - Edgewater
No. 752 Oakland - Ridgewood - Hackensack
No. 753 New Milford - Paramus
No. 755 Paramus - Fort Lee - Edgewater
No. 756 Englewood Cliffs - Fort Lee - Paramus
No. 758 Passaic - Paramus Park
No. 762 Hackensack - New Milford - Paramus
No. 770 Paterson - Hackensack
No. 772 Paramus - Hackensack - Meadowlands
No. 780 Passaic - Hackensack - Englewood
No. 801 Metropark - JFK Hospital
No. 802 Metropark - Rt. 1/Green St.
No. 803 Metropark - Woodbridge Center Dr.
No. 804 Metropark - Wood Ave.
No. 805 Metropark - Ford Ave.
No. 810 New Brunswick - Woodbridge Center
No. 811 New Brunswick - South River
No. 813 Perth Amboy - Middlesex County College
No. 814 N. Brunswick - New Brunswick - Middlesex County College
No. 815 New Brunswick - East Brunswick - Woodbridge Center
No. 817 Perth Amboy - Campbell's Junction
No. 818 New Brunswick - East Brunswick - Old Bridge
No. 819 Piscataway - Plainfield - Metuchen - South Plainfield
No. 822 Plainfield - North Plainfield
No. 830 Asbury Park - Point Pleasant Beach
No. 831 Red Bank - Monmouth Mall - Long Branch
No. 832 Red Bank - Monmouth Mall - Asbury Park
No. 833 Red Bank - Freehold - Freehold Raceway Mall
No. 834 Red Bank - Highlands
No. 835 Red Bank - Sea Bright
No. 836 Asbury Park - Freehold Raceway Mall - Centra State
No. 837 Long Branch - Asbury Park - Seaview Square
No. 871 Morristown - Boonton - Willowbrook
No. 872 Morristown - Rt. 10 - Livingston
No. 873 Greystone - Morristown - Livingston
No. 874 Morristown - Willowbrook
No. 875 Morristown - Dover - Roxbury
No. 880 Morristown - Dover - Rockaway

NJ TRANSIT’s Hamilton Garage was selected for the first phase of the pilot program because of the relatively small size of its operations, and the fact that none of its bus routes intersect with other garages, provide an ideal testing environment. The success of the initial phase and the subsequent expansion of the pilot into South Jersey continue NJ TRANSIT’s path toward a full systemwide rollout of MyBus Now later this year.

Currently, the statewide agency is taking delivery of 1,145 new buses that are already equipped with smart bus technology provided by Clever Devices LTD. In addition, NJ TRANSIT has procured additional smart bus platforms to retrofit the remaining buses in the agency’s fleet, including those on routes operated by private carriers under contract to NJ TRANSIT.

The Clever Devices platform offers many operational and customer benefits, including automatic bus stop announcements, vehicle condition monitoring, passenger counting and real-time location reporting. The data provided through this technology will allow for greater efficiency in terms of scheduling, planning and maintenance of the NJ TRANSIT bus network.

MyBus Now builds on NJ TRANSIT’s “MyBus” system, which launched in October 2010. Based on a system of bus stop ID numbers—unique five-digit numbers NJ TRANSIT has assigned to each of its bus stops—MyBus enables customers who have cell phones with SMS (text messaging) capabilities to receive bus schedule information for a specific stop directly to their cell phones. Customers can obtain their bus stop ID online at njtransit.com, or from MyBus signs posted at bus stops statewide.

How to Use MyBus Now

From a desktop computer: Visit mybusnow.njtransit.com. Select either “bus times” or “bus map.”
- Bus Times: Enter your five-digit bus stop ID or select your bus route, direction of travel and bus stop from the drop-down menus.
- Bus Map: Click “Routes” and select up to 10 routes, or click “Find Stop” and follow the directions in the dialog box to view the real-time location of buses on a Google map. Buses are represented by bus icons that display an arrow to indicate the direction of travel. Hover over the bus icon to display the estimated arrival times for the next four bus stops. Click the bus icon for additional options, including links to “route schedule” (PDF of the bus timetable) and “route progress” (a timeline of the bus trip by stop).

From a web-enabled smartphone: Visit njtransit.com and select MyBus Now to view a streamlined version of the web page. Select your bus route from the list or enter your five-digit bus stop ID.

From a cell phone with SMS-text messaging: Text your five-digit bus stop ID to MyBus (69287). Instead of returning the next scheduled trips, MyBus Now will provide real-time information for routes in the pilot program. For all other routes, MyBus will continue to provide information for scheduled trips.

MyBus Now is also improving the functionality of NJ TRANSIT’s IVR (interactive voice response) system. Now, when customers call NJ TRANSIT at 973-275-5555, they can use the automated prompts to enter their bus stop ID number to receive real-time predicted arrivals 24/7 for stops within the Trenton/Mercer County area, South Jersey and Philadelphia area, and North Jersey local routes. For bus stops outside of these areas, customers will receive scheduled arrival information.

Systemwide Improvement to “My Bus”

As a reminder, MyBus customers can now receive schedule information for a specific route by texting MyBus (69287), followed by a space and the route number. For example, to find schedule information for the No. 73 specifically for the bus stop located at Newark Penn Station (bus stop ID number 18835), text MyBus (69287) the following text: 18835 73. The system will return only scheduled trips on the No. 73 route, even though the bus stop is served by other bus routes.

About NJ TRANSIT

NJ TRANSIT is the nation's largest statewide public transportation system providing more than 895,000 weekday trips on 261 bus routes, three light rail lines, 12 commuter rail lines and through Access Link paratransit service. It is the third largest transit system in the country with 164 rail stations, 61 light rail stations and more than 19,000 bus stops linking major points in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia.