NJ TRANSIT ADJUSTS BUS SCHEDULES TO IMPROVE RELIABILITY AND REDUCE OVERCROWDING

\N

NEWARK, NJ, December 23, 2002 – NJ TRANSIT will revise schedules on a number of bus lines on Saturday, January 4 in response to changing travel patterns and customer requests and to address capacity issues on some lines. The Corporation regularly reviews its bus routes and makes changes to improve service.

Additional seats and trips will be added on various bus routes throughout the system to reduce overcrowding.

A number of bus routes in downtown Newark will be rerouted in anticipation of the Newark Rail Link Phase I construction. NJ TRANSIT will take advantage of the opening of Raymond Boulevard to two-way traffic at all times, which will simplify the route patterns. More specific changes are listed below.

Following are highlights of the January 4 bus schedule changes:

Atlantic County

On the No. 502 Atlantic City-Hamilton Mall-Atlantic/Cape Community College route, a weekday morning peak trip will be added from Atlantic City to Atlantic/Cape Community College. The 7 a.m. trip from Atlantic City will end at Hamilton Mall. An additional morning peak trip will be added from Pleasantville to Atlantic/Cape Community College to relieve overcrowding. The 7:09 a.m. from Shore Mall will be adjusted to originate at Atlantic/Cape Community College at 6:32 a.m. Short trips from Shore Mall to Atlantic City will be added on Sundays to relieve overcrowding.
Minor changes will occur on the Nos. 501 Atlantic City-Brigantine Beach, 504 Bungalow Park-Ventnor Plaza and 508 Atlantic City-Richard Stockton College-Hamilton Mall routes. Customers should check their timetables carefully.
On the No. 553 Upper Deerfield-Atlantic City route, trips toward Upper Deerfield will be rerouted in Bridgeton to operate via NJ 49, Bank Street, McCormick Place and NJ 77. The 12:20 a.m. trip will be adjusted to depart Atlantic City at 12:27 a.m. and extend to Upper Deerfield.
On the No. 559 Lakewood-Atlantic City route, the Nacote Creek detour in Port Republic will be eliminated. A Bass River detour will be implemented operating via US 9 and the Garden State Parkway between Port Republic and Tuckerton, temporarily suspending all service to New Gretna. There will be minor trip adjustments to selected late night and early morning trips to accommodate the detour. Customers should check their timetables carefully.

Bergen County

On the No. 145 Fair Lawn-New York route, the weekday peak hour route will be extended to serve Century Road and Brenton Woods Development in Paramus. Service will now operate via Routes 17 and 4 to and from the Garden State Parkway instead of via Paramus Road (These changes benefit customers in Fair Lawn and Paramus).
On the No. 156 Englewood Cliffs-New York route, a weekday morning peak Bergenline/Park Avenue local trip will be eliminated and the morning and evening Turnpike Express service will be eliminated due to low ridership (These changes benefit customers in Englewood Cliffs, Fort Lee, Cliffside Park and Edgewater).
On the No. 159 Fort Lee-New York route, three weekday early afternoon trips and two weekday early morning trips will be eliminated due to low ridership (These changes benefit customers in Fort Lee, Cliffside Park, Fairview and Edgewater).
Minor changes will occur on the Nos. 154 Fort Lee-Palisades Park-New York and 158 Fort Lee-Edgewater-New York routes. Customers should check their timetables carefully.
On the No. 165 Westwood-New York route, five inbound local trips and two outbound local trips will be added on Saturdays between 3:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. to relieve overcrowding. On Sundays, one inbound local trip and one outbound local trip will be added between 5:40 p.m. and 8:20 p.m (These changes benefit customers in Westwood, Emerson, Oradell, River Edge, Hackensack, Little Ferry, Ridgefield, Ridgefield Park and Fairview).
On the No. 166 Dumont-Tenafly-New York route, two inbound local trips will be added on Saturdays at 2:55 p.m. and 3:55 p.m. On Sundays a p.m. outbound trip will be added (These changes benefit customers in Cresskill, Dumont, Bergenfield, Tenafly, Englewood, Leonia, Palisades Park and Ridgefield).
On the No. 167 Harrington Park-New York route, one p.m. Teaneck Road trip has been added from New York to Dumont between 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. On Saturdays, a new 9:30 p.m. trip from New York to Harrington Park has been added (These changes benefit customers in Harrington Park, Haworth, New Milford, Bergenfield, Dumont, Teaneck and Ridgefield Park).
On the No. 168 Paramus-New York route, hourly afternoon and evening service will be added between Hackensack and Paramus Park Mall. Weekday service to Continental Plaza and University Plaza in Hackensack will be eliminated due to low ridership (These changes benefit customers in Paramus, Hackensack, Bogota, Teaneck, Ridgefield Park, Palisades Park and Ridgefield).
Minor weekday and weekend changes will occur on the No. 181 Hoboken-New York route. Customers should check their timetables carefully (These changes benefit customers in Fort Lee, Cliffside Park and Fairview).
On the No. 190 Paterson-New York route, all service in Rutherford will be restored to the regular route, operating via the Union Avenue Bridge. Service will be discontinued on Riverside and Jackson avenues (These changes benefit customers in Rutherford and Lyndhurst).
On the No. 320 North Bergen Park/Ride-New York route, an earlier weekday trip has been added from the North Bergen Park/Ride to New York. On Sundays all trips will serve the North Bergen Park/Ride hourly (These changes benefit customers in Secaucus and North Bergen).
On the No. 351 Meadowlands Sports Complex-New York route, service on Wednesdays and Thursdays from New York to the racetrack will decrease from four evening trips to two. Friday and Saturday service to the racetrack will decrease from four evening trips to three. On days when races operate, a trip will be provided at 12:20 p.m. from New York for 1:10 p.m. race time.

Burlington County

Minor adjustments will be made to the No. 406 Berlin-Marlton-Philadelphia route. Customers should check their timetables carefully.
On the No. 409 Trenton-Willingboro-Philadelphia route, inbound trips in Trenton will be rerouted to operate via Montgomery Street instead of Stockton Street between Front Street and East State Street.

Camden County

On the No. 400 Sicklerville-Philadelphia route, weekday service will be extended to Pennco Tech on Erial Road in Blackwood for class starting and ending points. A new holiday timetable will be created for this line, the holiday schedule removed from the regular timetable.
Minor adjustments will be made to the No. 406 Berlin-Marlton-Philadelphia and No. 459 Echelon Mall-Avandale routes. Customers should check their timetables carefully.

Cape May County

On the No. 313-315 Philadelphia-Wildwood-Cape May route, all trips will be rerouted in Glassboro to serve the Rowan University campus with minor trip adjustments to departure times from Philadelphia and Cape May.

Cumberland County

On the No. 553 Upper Deerfield-Atlantic City route, trips toward Upper Deerfield will be rerouted in Bridgeton to operate via N.J. 49, Bank Street, McCormick Place and N.J. 77. The 12:20 a.m. trip will be adjusted to depart Atlantic City at 12:27 a.m. and extend to Upper Deerfield.

Essex County

All No. 40 Kearny-Port Newark-Port Elizabeth buses to Port Newark and Jersey Gardens Mall will now travel up Raymond Boulevard from the Penn Station area, maker a right on Mulberry Street, then a right onto Commerce Street and a left on Broad Street to continue on the present route. All buses to Kearny will now use Broad Street, making a right onto Raymond Boulevard and then a right onto Mulberry Street to continue on the present route.
The No. 70 Newark-Summit-Livingston Mall route will have minor weekday adjustments to its schedule, including more peak period service serving the Short Hills Hilton Hotel. (These adjustments will benefit customers in Newark, Irvington, Maplewood, Millburn, Union, Springfield and Summit).
The Nos. 71 West Caldwell –New York, 73 Newark-Orange-Livingston and 79 Newark-Parsippany routes, the outbound 71 and 73 morning peak buses and all outbound 79 buses will now travel straight up Raymond Boulevard from Newark Penn Station, make a left on Warren Street and merge onto West Market Street using the regular route of the 71 and 73. (Note: the evening peak I-2809 service will follow the current route). The inbound buses will follow the reverse of the outbound route.
On the No. 72 Paterson-Newark route, all inbound 72 service to Newark will use University Avenue to Raymond Boulevard from Broad Street Station to Newark Penn Station (These changes affect passengers in Bloomfield and Newark).
On the No. 75 Butler-Newark route, all inbound 75 service to Newark will use Orange Street to Raymond Boulevard from Broad Street Station to Newark Penn Station (These changes affect customers in Cedar Grove, Newark, Verona and West Orange).
There will be minor adjustments to the Nos. 37 Lyons Avenue, 78 Newark-Secaucus and 107 South Orange-New York routes. Customers should check their timetables carefully.

Gloucester County

On the No. 313-315 Philadelphia-Wildwood-Cape May route, all trips will be rerouted in Glassboro to serve the Rowan University campus with minor trip adjustments to departure times from Philadelphia and Cape May.
Minor adjustments will occur on the No. 463 Woodbury-Avandale route. Customers should check their timetables carefully.

Hudson County

All No. 40 Kearny-Port Newark-Port Elizabeth buses to Port Newark and Jersey Gardens Mall will now travel up Raymond Boulevard from the Penn Station area, maker a right on Mulberry Street, then a right onto Commerce Street and a left on Broad Street to continue on the present route. All buses to Kearny will now use Broad Street, making a right onto Raymond Boulevard and then a right onto Mulberry Street to continue on the present route.
On the No. 64 Lakewood-Jersey City-Weehawken route, there will be minor weekday peak hour trip time adjustments, one morning and one evening trip will be eliminated due to low ridership. An evening express trip will be adjusted to serve the local route. Another evening express trip will be adjusted to stop at the Old Bridge Park/Ride.
The No. 120 Bayonne-Lower Manhattan route will add a later morning trip leaving First Street in Bayonne at 8:40 a.m. and an early afternoon trip leaving Manhattan at 3:29 p.m. (These adjustments benefit customers in Bayonne).
On the No. 121 North Bergen-New York route, a weekday morning peak trip and evening trip will be eliminated to and from Westside Avenue. The evening peak reverse trips to Westside Avenue will be eliminated as well. Special holiday levels of service will be discontinued; on select holidays a weekday level of service will operate (These changes will benefit customers in North Bergen and Union City).
Weekday service on the No. 126 Hoboken-New York route will be revised in order to improve peak period reliability. Midday and evening trip times may change by up to ten minutes (These adjustments benefit customers in Hoboken and Jersey City).
On the No. 128 Boulevard East-New York route, the 9:30 p.m. trip from New York will be adjusted to 9:50 p.m. and the 10:35 p.m. and 11:10 p.m. will be eliminated (These changes will affect customers in North Bergen, Guttenberg, West New York and Weehawken).
On the No. 156 Englewood Cliffs-New York route, a weekday morning peak Bergenline/Park Avenue local trip will be eliminated and the morning and evening Turnpike Express service will be eliminated due to low ridership (These changes benefit customers in North Bergen, West New York, Guttenberg, Union City and Weehawken).
On the No. 159 Fort Lee-New York route, three weekday early afternoon trips and two weekday early morning trips will be eliminated due to low ridership (These changes benefit customers in North Bergen, West New York, Guttenberg, Union City and Weehawken).
On the No. 165 Westwood-New York route, five inbound local trips and two outbound local trips will be added on Saturdays between 3:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. to relieve overcrowding. On Sundays, one inbound local trip and one outbound local trip will be added between 5:40 p.m. and 8:20 p.m (These changes benefit customers in North Bergen, Guttenberg, West New York and Weehawken).
On the No. 166 Dumont-Tenafly-New York route, two inbound local trips will be added on Saturdays at 2:55 p.m. and 3:55 p.m. On Sundays a p.m. outbound trip will be added (These changes benefit customers in North Bergen, Guttenberg, West New York and Weehawken).
On the No. 168 Paramus-New York route, hourly afternoon and evening service will be added between Hackensack and Paramus Park Mall. Weekday service to Continental Plaza and University Plaza in Hackensack will be eliminated due to low ridership (These changes benefit customers in North Bergen, Guttenberg, West New York and Weehawken).
Minor weekday and weekend changes will occur on the No. 181 Hoboken-New York route. Customers should check their timetables carefully (These changes benefit customers in North Bergen, Guttenberg, West New York, Union City, Weehawken and Hoboken).
On the No. 190 Paterson-New York route, all service in Rutherford will be restored to the regular route, operating via the Union Avenue Bridge. Service will be discontinued on Riverside and Jackson avenues (These changes benefit customers in Secaucus and Union City).

Mercer County

On the No. 409 Trenton-Willingboro-Philadelphia route, inbound trips in Trenton will be rerouted to operate via Montgomery Street instead of Stockton Street between Front Street and East State Street.
On the No. 600 Trenton-Plainsboro route, weekday midday service between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. will be reduced from every 30 minutes to every 75 minutes due to low ridership.
On the No. 601 College of New Jersey-Trenton-Hamilton Marketplace route, weekday trips will be extended to serve Hamilton Marketplace. All Saturday trips will serve Hamilton Marketplace and the frequency will be widened from 60 minutes to 75 minutes. On Sundays all trips will serve Hamilton Marketplace on a 75-minute frequency, previously 120 minutes.
On the No. 603 Mercer Mall-Quaker Bridge Mall-Hamilton Marketplace route, all weekday Groveville trips will be extended to Hamilton Marketplace. Saturday and Sunday service will also be extended to serve Hamilton Marketplace.
On the No. 606 Princeton-Mercerville-Hamilton Marketplace route, all trips will be extended to serve Hamilton Marketplace. A new holiday schedule will be implemented on this route; customers should check their timetables carefully.

Middlesex County

On the No. 65 Somerville-Newark route, the 6:15 a.m. weekday trip from Bridgewater Mall to Newark will no longer operate between Bridgewater and Dunellen. Passengers can use the No. 114 Bridgewater-New York service during this time period. (These adjustments affect customers in Bridgewater, Somerville, Bound Brook and Middlesex).
On the No. 113 Dunellen-New York Express route, weekday morning peak period service will be adjusted and will include the operation of an additional trip. (These adjustments will benefit customers in Dunellen, Plainfield, Scotch Plains, Fanwood, Westfield, Garwood and Cranford.
On the No. 114 Bridgewater-New York route, weekday morning and afternoon peak express and local service will be adjusted and will include additional trips. The first morning express trip will operate eight minutes earlier, leaving Dunellen at 5:22 a.m. The second morning express trip will operate 10 minutes earlier, leaving Somerville at 5:24 a.m. Afternoon express trips from New York that operate beyond Dunellen to Bridgewater will be adjusted by up to 15 minutes. Sunday service to New York from Dunellen and points east and from New York will begin one hour earlier. (These adjustments benefit customers in Bridgewater, Somerville, Bound Brook, Middlesex, Dunellen, Piscataway, Plainfield, North Plainfield, Watchung, Scotch Plains, Westfield, Mountainside, Springfield, Union and Hillside).
On the No. 115 Rahway-New York route, weekday afternoon peak period service from New York will be adjusted and will include an additional trip. (The adjustments will benefit customers in Elizabeth, Linden, Roselle, Rahway and Avenel).
On the No. 600 Trenton-Plainsboro route, weekday midday service between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. will be reduced from every 30 minutes to every 75 minutes due to low ridership.

Monmouth County

On the No. 64 Lakewood-Jersey City-Weehawken route, there will be minor weekday peak hour trip time adjustments, one morning and one evening trip will be eliminated due to low ridership. An evening express trip will be adjusted to serve the local route. Another evening express trip will be adjusted to stop at the Old Bridge Park/Ride.

Morris County

On the No. 75 Butler-Newark route, all inbound 75 service will use Orange Street to Raymond Boulevard from Broad Street Station to Newark Penn Station (These changes affect customers in Butler, Riverdale and Pequannock).
On the No. 194 Newfoundland-New York route, a new seasonal service to Mountain Creek Ski Resort began in December and will operate on weekends and holidays throughout the winter season. Expanded outbound service to the Wayne/Route 23 Park/Ride has been added throughout the day (These changes benefit customers in Pequannock and Kinnelon).

Ocean County

On the No. 64 Lakewood-Jersey City-Weehawken route, there will be minor weekday peak hour trip time adjustments, one morning and one evening trip will be eliminated due to low ridership. An evening express trip will be adjusted to serve the local route. Another evening express trip will be adjusted to stop at the Old Bridge Park and Ride.
On the No. 137 Toms River-New York route, an extra 9 a.m. trip will operate from Toms River to New York on Tuesdays and Thursdays. A morning express trip via 549/Dorado Park /Ride will be eliminated due to low ridership.
On the No. 139 Lakewood-New York route, six morning trips will be eliminated Monday through Thursday. On Fridays, six morning trips will be eliminated due to low ridership. Other minor trip adjustments will be made; customers should check their timetables carefully.
On the No. 559 Lakewood-Atlantic City route, the Nacote Creek detour in Port Republic will be eliminated. A Bass River detour will be implemented operating via U.S. 9 and the Garden State Parkway between Port Republic and Tuckerton, temporarily suspending all service to New Gretna. There will be minor trip adjustments to selected late night and early morning trips to accommodate the detour. Customers should check their timetables carefully.

Passaic County

On the No. 72 Paterson-Newark route, all inbound 72 service will use University Avenue to Raymond Boulevard from Broad Street Station to Newark Penn Station (These changes affect customers in Clifton and Passaic).
On the No. 75 Butler-Newark route, all inbound 75 service will use Orange Street to Raymond Boulevard from Broad Street Station to Newark Penn Station (These changes affect customers in Bloomingdale, Little Falls, Pompton Lakes and Wayne).
On the No. 190 Paterson-New York route, all service in Rutherford will be restored to the regular route, operating via the Union Avenue Bridge. Service will be discontinued on Riverside and Jackson avenues (These changes benefit customers in Paterson, Clifton and Passaic).
On the No. 193 Pompton Lakes-Packanack Lake-Willowbrook-New York route, weekday inbound service will be added midday and evenings from the Wayne/Route 23 Park/Ride. Express service and service via Willowbrook will operate from 10:03 a.m. to 5:48 p.m. Weekday midday service from Pompton Lakes and Packanack Lake will be eliminated, alternate service is available from the Wayne/Route 23 Park/Ride. Saturday service to and from Pompton Lakes via Black Oak Ridge Road and Packanack Lake will be discontinued and alternate service to and from Pompton Lakes is available on the No. 197 Warwick-New York route. Other minor adjustments will occur on this bus route, customers should check their timetables carefully (These changes benefit customers in Wayne).
On the No. 194 Newfoundland-New York route, a new seasonal service to Mountain Creek Ski Resort began in December and will operate on weekends and holidays throughout the winter season. Expanded outbound service to the Wayne/Route 23 Park/Ride has been added throughout the day (These changes benefit customers in Wayne, Pompton Lakes, Bloomingdale, Butler and West Milford).
On the No. 197 Warwick-New York route, weekday service will be extended on select trips to serve the William Patterson University Valley Road facility. Outbound morning trips will operate on request only. On Saturdays, eight inbound and eight outbound trips between Pompton Lakes and New York via Willowbrook Mall will be added (These changes benefit customers in Greenwood Lake, West Milford, Ringwood, Wanaque, Pompton Lakes, Wayne and Totowa).
Minor changes will be made on the No. 744 Passaic-Wayne route, customers should check their timetables carefully (These changes will benefit customers in Passaic, Clifton, Paterson, Prospect Park, Haledon and Wayne).

Salem County

On the No. 468 Penns Grove-Salem-Woodstown route, three weekday trips will be adjusted in each direction to operate via Quinton Township to serve the Maryville Outpatient Rehab clinic and downtown Quinton. Service will operate via NJ 49, Sickler Street, New Street and Cottage Avenue.

Somerset County

On the No. 65 Somerville-Newark route, the 6:15 a.m. weekday trip from Bridgewater Mall to Newark will no longer operate between Bridgewater and Dunellen. Passengers can use the No. 114 Bridgewater-New York service during this time period. (These adjustments affect customers in Bridgewater, Somerville, Bound Brook and Middlesex).
On the No. 114 Bridgewater-New York route, weekday morning and afternoon peak express and local service will be adjusted and will include additional trips. The first morning express trip will operate eight minutes earlier, leaving Dunellen at 5:22 a.m. The second morning express trip will operate 10 minutes earlier, leaving Somerville at 5:24 a.m. Afternoon express trips from New York that operate beyond Dunellen to Bridgewater will be adjusted by up to 15 minutes. Sunday service to New York from Dunellen and points east and from New York will begin one hour earlier. (These adjustments benefit customers in Bridgewater, Somerville, Bound Brook, Middlesex, Dunellen, Piscataway, Plainfield, North Plainfield, Watchung, Scotch Plains, Westfield, Mountainside, Springfield, Union and Hillside).

Union County

The No. 70 Newark-Summit-Livingston Mall route will have minor weekday adjustments to its schedule, including more peak period service serving the Short Hills Hilton Hotel. (These adjustments will benefit customers in Newark, Irvington, Maplewood, Millburn, Union, Springfield and Summit).
On the No. 112 Clark-New York route, there will be minor adjustments to some weekday trips. The 12:08 p.m. trip from Scotch Plains to New York will operate eight minutes earlier. The 8:45 a.m. trip from Scotch Plains will no longer operate between Union County Vo-Tech and Goodman’s Crossing. The 7:20 a.m. trip from New York will terminate at Goodman’s Crossing and no longer operate to the Vo-Tech School. (Adjustments will benefit customers in Elizabeth, Roselle, Linden, Clark and Scotch Plains).
On the No. 113 Dunellen-New York Express route, weekday morning peak period service will be adjusted and will include the operation of an additional trip. (These adjustments will benefit customers in Dunellen, Plainfield, Scotch Plains, Fanwood, Westfield, Garwood and Cranford.
On the No. 114 Bridgewater-New York route, weekday morning and afternoon peak express and local service will be adjusted and will include additional trips. The first morning express trip will operate eight minutes earlier, leaving Dunellen at 5:22 a.m. The second morning express trip will operate 10 minutes earlier, leaving Somerville at 5:24 a.m. Afternoon express trips from New York that operate beyond Dunellen to Bridgewater will be adjusted by up to 15 minutes. Sunday service to New York from Dunellen and points east and from New York will begin one hour earlier. (These adjustments benefit customers in Bridgewater, Somerville, Bound Brook, Middlesex, Dunellen, Piscataway, Plainfield, North Plainfield, Watchung, Scotch Plains, Westfield, Mountainside, Springfield, Union and Hillside).
On the No. 115 Rahway-New York route, weekday afternoon peak period service from New York will be adjusted and will include an additional trip. (The adjustments will benefit customers in Elizabeth, Linden, Roselle, Rahway and Avenel).

For further information, riders in North Jersey can call NJ TRANSIT between 6 a.m. and midnight at 1-800-772-2222 or at 973-762-5100 from out of state. In South Jersey, riders may call NJ TRANSIT between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. at 1-800-582-5946 or at 215-569-3752 from Pennsylvania. For persons with hearing impairments, the number is 1-800-772-2287.

NJ TRANSIT is the nation's largest statewide public transportation system providing more than 761,000 daily trips on 238 bus routes, two light rail lines and 12 commuter rail lines. It is the third largest transit system in the country with 163 rail stations, 27 light rail stations and more than 17,000 bus stops linking major points in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia.