NJ Transit takeover of private bus routes will bring relief to northern New Jersey commuters
Sept. 29, 2023, 7:27 p.m.
The agency is setting up six new routes and extending an existing one to incorporate stops currently serviced by private bus companies.
NJ Transit will take over several privately operated bus routes that were set to be discontinued next month, the agency announced Friday.
The takeover was cast as an “emergency stabilization plan,” but it was not immediately clear how many commuters would benefit and how long the changes would last. NJ Transit did not respond to a request for comment Friday evening.
New Jersey Transportation Commissioner and NJ Transit Board Chair Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti said in a press release that the move would “empower New Jerseyans to fulfill their professional, personal and recreational needs via affordable, accessible and reliable transportation.”
Starting in October, six new NJ Transit routes will serve the same bus stops currently serviced by Coach USA and A&C Bus Corp., Gov. Phil Murphy said Thursday afternoon. The agency will also extend a seventh, already-existing route to replace an A&C line.
Coach USA had announced this month it would end its O.N.E. Bus operations on three routes — serving Newark, East Orange, Orange City, and Essex County — on Oct. 8. A&C Bus Corp. was slated to discontinue Jersey City service later in October.
The bus routes serve heavily populated areas near New York City. NJ Transit also took over northern New Jersey bus lines discontinued by another company, DeCamp Bus Lines, in early September.
Murphy signaled on WNYC’s “Ask Governor Murphy” show this month his administration was considering financial assistance to save the Coach and A&C bus lines as a “short-term fix,” after the companies said their decision to end their local operations stemmed from financial hardships driven by COVID-19.
“It raises … another existential question, and that is, in what parts of society are we better off with a public-good operator?” Murphy told WNYC’s Nancy Solomon, naming NJ Transit as a possibility. “Versus, where do you feel comfortable with a private-sector operator?”
The new NJ Transit lines #24, #31, and #44 will replace O.N.E lines beginning Oct. 9. Meanwhile, new NJ Transit lines #8, #9, and #14 and an extension of the current #80 line will replace the old A&C lines on Oct. 28.
Route and schedule details were listed in the press release from NJ Transit on Friday, with more information to come once finalized.
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