NJ TRANSIT KICKS OFF INNOVATION CHALLENGE TO INCREASE MASS TRANSIT CAPACITY TO THE MEADOWLANDS

More than 50 Potential Public and Private Partners Met to Reimagine Approaches to Mass Transportation Challenges

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 7, 2019

 

NEWARK, NJ —NJ TRANSIT welcomed more than 140 attendees from 54 private and public entities to the kickoff of its “Innovation Challenge” at the Meadowlands Sports and Entertainment Complex to discuss the challenges and possible innovative solutions to moving people to and from the location’s popular venues.  Another 80 participants also joined in via live stream over the Internet. 

Participants included construction, engineering, manufacturing and planning firms; on-demand transportation providers; colleges and universities; public transportation agencies; and other interested parties.

“Transportation is critical to the success of any major destination, and the Meadowlands is one of the premiere entertainment venues on the East Coast,” said NJDOT Commissioner and NJ TRANSIT Board Chair Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti.  “The ideas discussed here are very exciting, and I look forward to implementing the innovative projects that saw their genesis today.”

“We are looking at all possible solutions to get our customers to and from the Meadowlands, not just the existing rail, light rail and bus technologies we currently operate,” said NJ TRANSIT President & CEO Kevin Corbett. “The goal at today’s ‘Innovation Challenge’ is to bring new ideas and modes of transportation to the table not just for the Meadowlands, but new solutions and methods with the potential to transform mass transit in the Garden State.”

The Meadowlands provides unique challenges to mass transit, including: sporting events and concerts at Met Life Stadium; the American Dream which will have 20,000 employees and 40 million visitors annually; highly sensitive environmental features including the famous meadows and Hackensack River; highly traveled existing roads; and an existing rail line to the stadium.

NJ TRANSIT expects to issue a Request for Expressions of Interest in the coming weeks for potential partners to propose their ideas and possible projects to meet peak capacity requirements between Secaucus, American Dream, and Met-Life Stadium. The agency is seeking partners that can provide end-to-end solutions, including design, build, operations and management as well as identifying the financial resources to make a proposal a reality.

About NJ TRANSIT

NJ TRANSIT is the nation's largest statewide public transportation system providing more than 925,000 weekday trips on 251 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 166 rail stations, 62 light rail stations and more than 18,000 bus stops linking major points in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia.