NJ Transit Bus Operations
 | |
 NJ Transit bus operates along Prospect Street in western Trenton. | |
| Parent | NJ Transit |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1980 (purchase of Transport of New Jersey) |
| Headquarters | Newark, New Jersey |
| Service area | New Jersey (statewide) |
| Service type | Local and commuter bus transit, Newark Light Rail |
| Routes | 267 (See list below) |
| Stations | 26 bus terminals, 19,500 bus stops, 17 light rail stations[1] |
| Fleet | 3,052 buses, 696 leased to private operators 21 light rail vehicles[1] |
| Annual ridership | 131,253,500 (2023)[2] |
| Operator | See operator list below |
| Chief executive | Kevin Corbett |
| Website | njtransit |
NJ Transit Bus Operations is the bus division of NJ Transit, providing bus service throughout New Jersey along with service along with the Newark Light Rail service. Many of the agency's bus routes travel over state lines to New York City or Philadelphia. In 2023, the bus system had a ridership of 131,253,500.
History
Prior to 1948, most public transportation in New Jersey was provided by the Public Service Corporation of New Jersey, a utility company that also operated the Public Service Railway division. In 1948, the Public Service Corporation was divided into two entities: the Public Service Electric and Gas Company, which inherited the utility operations, and the Public Service Coordinated Transportation Company (PSCT), which inherited the transit operations. PSCT provided service throughout New Jersey, originally using trolleys and then transitioning to trolley buses, and buses. During the 1970s, the New Jersey Department of Transportation began funding the routes of Public Service, now renamed Transport of New Jersey (TNJ), contracting with TNJ and other companies to operate local bus service throughout New Jersey.[3]
NJ Transit came into being as the result of the New Jersey Public Transportation Act of 1979 to "acquire, operate, and contract for transportation services in the public interest". NJ Transit Bus Operations came into being the following year, when it acquired Transport of New Jersey from PSE&G.[4] Other purchases and buyouts in the 1980s expanded the bus division of NJ Transit, including the assumption of service for Somerset Bus Company in 1982 and the acquisition of the Atlantic City Transportation Company in 1987.[5] In 1992 NJ Transit Mercer, Inc., which was the successor to the former "Mercer Metro" operation in the Trenton and Princeton areas, was folded into NJ Transit Bus Operations.[6] In 2010, Morris County operations were taken over under the subsidiary NJ Transit Morris, Inc.
NJ Transit Bus Operations owns, leases, or subleases over 3,000 buses,[1] and many more have been purchased for community shuttles.
Routes
Routes are numbered by where they operate in the state of New Jersey, however, there are a few exceptions to the general rule due to subsequent changes to some routes operating in Central and North Jersey. Fare and route can also be further elucidated on some of the individual route schedules[7] or the trip planner.[8]
- 1-99: Intrastate service originating from Newark, Jersey City, Hoboken, or Elizabeth.
- 100-199: Routes from central and northern New Jersey to New York City.
- 200-299: No routes with these numbers; a few existed in the 1980s but were soon renumbered.
- 300-399: Special-event and park services, school tripper services, park-and-ride services, long-distance suburban routes from Philadelphia, New York-Atlantic City express. Beginning in 2010, numbers in this series are also assigned to North Jersey intrastate routes formerly suffixed with an X.
- 400-449: Short-distance suburban routes in southwestern New Jersey and to Philadelphia.
- 450-499: Local routes within Camden, Gloucester, and Salem counties.
- 500-549: Local routes within Atlantic and Cape May counties.
- 550-599: Long-distance routes from Atlantic City serving points in southern New Jersey and Philadelphia.
- 600-699: Local routes within Mercer County.
- 700-799: Local routes within Passaic and Bergen counties not running to Newark.
- 800-880: Local routes within Middlesex, Monmouth, and Morris counties not running to Newark.
- Wheels Suburban Transportation Services (890 and up).
In most cases, routes retain the same numbers they had under the Public Service/Transport of New Jersey umbrella.
Fleet
Divisions, facilities, and operators
NJ Transit Bus Operations is divided into the Northern, Central, and Southern Divisions, and contract operations.[9] Below is a list of all facilities and the buses housed in them.[10]
Northern Division
The Northern Division consists of six garages.
| Garage | Location | Routes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fairview | 419 Anderson Avenue, Fairview |
128 (split with Meadowlands, Howell), 153, 154, 156 (split with Meadowlands), 158 (split with Meadowlands), 159 (split with Meadowlands), 181 (split with Meadowlands, Oradell), 321 (split with Howell, Meadowlands), 351 (split with Meadowlands, Community Coach) | |
| Market Street | 16 Market Street, Paterson |
72, 74, 171, 175, 178, 182, 186, 703, 704, 712, 770 | |
| Meadowlands | 2600 Penhorn Avenue, North Bergen |
10 (with Greenville, Kearny Point), 22 (with Greenville), 23 (with Greenville), 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 88, 89, 119 (with Greenville, Kearny Point), 121, 122 (split with Wayne), 123, 124, 125, 126 (split with Greenville, Hilton, Howell, Ironbound), 127, 128 (split with Fairview, Howell), 129, 139 (split with Howell, Ironbound, Academy), 156 (split with Fairview, Market Street), 159 (split with Fairview, Market Street), 166 (split with Oradell), 167 (split with Oradell), 177 (split with Oradell), 181 (split with Fairview, Oradell), 188, 190 (split with Market St, Wayne), 319 (split with Egg Harbor, Howell), 320, 321, 329, 351 (split with Fairview, Community Coach), 353 (split with Ironbound, Oradell, Community Coach), 355 (split with Ironbound) |
|
| Oradell | Marginal Rd, Oradell |
144, 155 (split with Westwood), 157 (split with Westwood), 162, 163, 164 (split with Wayne), 165 (split with Westwood), 166 (split with Meadowlands), 167 (split with Meadowlands, Westwood), 168, 177 (split with Meadowlands, Westwood), 181 (split with Fairview, Meadowlands), 353 (split with Ironbound, Meadowlands, Community Coach), 364 |
|
| Westwood | 180 Old Hook Road, Westwood | 155, 157, 165, 167, 168, 177 (all shared with Oradell and Meadowlands) | •Former Coach USA Rockland Coaches garage
•Bought by NJT in 2022, to relieve congestion in Oradell • Service began for this garage on September 3, 2022 |
| Wayne | 55 West Belt Parkway, Wayne |
101, 105, 122 (split with Meadowlands), 145, 148, 151, 160, 161, 164 (split with Oradell) 190 (split with Meadowlands), 191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198, 199, 324 |
|
Central Division
The Central Division consists of eight garages and one light rail operations facility.
| Garage | Location | Routes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Tree | 1 Washington Avenue, Nutley |
1 (split with Hilton, Orange, Ironbound, Greenville),13 (split with Hilton), 27 (split with Hilton, Orange), 30, 40, 44, 76, 78, 99, 378 |
|
| Greenville | 53 Old Bergen Road Jersey City |
1 (split with Hilton, Ironbound, Orange, Big Tree), 6, 10 (with Meadowlands, Kearny Point), 22 (with Meadowlands), 23 (with Meadowlands), 80, 81, 87, 119 (with Kearny Point, Meadowlands), 120, 126 (split with Hilton, Howell, Meadowlands, Ironbound) |
|
| Hilton | 1450 Springfield Avenue Maplewood |
1 (split with Big Tree, Ironbound, Orange, Greenville), 13 (split with Big Tree), 24 (Split with Ironbound, Orange), 25, 26, 27 (split with Big Tree, Orange), 31, 37, 39, 52, 70, 90, 107, 108, 126 (split with Greenville, Howell, Ironbound, Meadowlands), 250 (go25), 361, 375 |
|
| Howell | 1251 U.S. 9, Howell Township Howell |
63, 64, 67, 68, 126 (split with Greenville, Hilton, Ironbound, Meadowlands), 128 (split with Meadowlands, Fairview), 130 (split with Academy), 131, 132, 133, 135, 136 (split with Academy), 137, 138, 139 (split with Academy, Ironbound, Meadowlands), 307, 319 (split with Egg Harbor, Meadowlands) |
|
| Ironbound | 601 Doremus Ave, Newark |
1 (split with Big Tree, Hilton, Orange, Greenville), 24 (Split with Hilton, Orange), 48, 56, 57, 58, 59, 62, 65, 66, 102, 109, 111, 112, 113 (split with Howell), 114, 115, 116 (split with Howell), 117, 126 (split with Greenville, Hilton, Howell, Meadowlands), 139 (split with Howell, Academy), 353 (split with Meadowlands, Oradell, Community Coach), 355 (split with Meadowlands), 356 |
|
| Kearny Point | 677 Wilson Ave, Newark |
2, 8, 9, 10 (shared with Greenville, Meadowlands), 14, 119 (Shared with Greenville, Meadowlands), 986 | |
| Morris (NJ Transit Morris, Inc.) |
34 Richboynton Road Dover |
871, 872, 873, 874, 875, 878, 880 | |
| Newark Light Rail | Grove Street station Bloomfield |
Newark Light Rail Newark Penn Station |
|
| Orange | 420 Thomas Boulevard, Orange |
1 (split with Ironbound, Hilton, Big Tree, Greenville) 5, 11, 21, 24 (split with Ironbound, Hilton), 27 (split with Big Tree, Hilton), 28, 29, 31, 34, 41, 71, 73, 79, 92, 94, 96, 97, 258 (go28), 372 |
|
Southern Division
The Southern Division consists of five garages.
| Garage | Location | Routes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Egg Harbor | 1431 Doughty Road, Egg Harbor |
313 (split with Washington Twp), 315 (split with Washington Twp), 316/510 (split with Newton Av, Washington Twp), 319 (split with Howell, Meadowlands), 501, 502, 504, 505, 507, 508, 509, 552, 553, 559 |
|
| Hamilton Township (NJ Transit Mercer, Inc.) |
600 Sloan Avenue, Hamilton |
600, 601, 603, 605, 606, 607, 608, 609, 610, 611, 612, 613, 619, 624 |
|
| Neptune Garage (NJ Transit Mercer, Inc.) |
830 Old Corlies Avenue, Neptune City |
830, 831, 832, 834, 836, 837, 838 |
|
| Newton Avenue | 350 Newton Avenue, Camden |
316/510 (split with Egg Harbor, Washington Twp), 317, 404, 405, 407, 409, 413, 414, 417, 418, 419, 450, 451, 452, 453, 455, 457 |
|
| Washington Township | 6000 Black Horse Pike, Turnersville |
313 (split with Egg Harbor), 315 (split with Egg Harbor), 316/510 (split with Egg Harbor, Newtown Av), 400, 401, 402, 403, 406, 408, 410, 412, 459, 463, 551, 554 |
|
Contract operations
These companies operate service under contract to New Jersey Transit. Service is provided using New Jersey Transit-branded buses.
| Operator | Location | Routes |
|---|---|---|
| Community Coach | 160 Route 17 North, Paramus |
351, 353 |
| Academy Bus Lines | 600 S River St, Hackensack | 702, 705, 707, 709, 722, 744, 746, 748, 751, 752, 753, 755, 756, 758, 762, 772, 780 |
| Salem County Transit | 88 Industrial Park Road Pennsville |
468 |
| Suburban Trails | 750 Somerset Street, New Brunswick |
100, 200, 300, 400, 801, 802, 803, 804, 805, 810, 811, 813, 814, 815, 817, 818, 819, 822 |
| Trans-Bridge Lines | 2012 Industrial Drive, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania |
890, 891 |
See also
References
- ^ a b c New Jersey Transit Facts at a Glance Archived September 6, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, Fiscal Year 2009
- ^ "Transit Ridership Report Fourth Quarter 2023" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. March 4, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
- ^ "Public Service – History". davemackey.com. Archived from the original on June 16, 2013. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
- ^ Martin Waldron (September 18, 1980). "Jersey Acquires 2 Key Bus Lines For $32 Million; Byrne Describes Takeover as 'Truly Public Transit' Possible Rail Takeover 'Getting Rid of a Headache' Jersey Acquires Two Key Bus Lines". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
- ^ Bird, David (June 3, 1982). "End of the Line Drawing Near for Jersey's Somerset Bus Co". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
- ^ "History & Structure" Archived September 2, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Transit
- ^ List of New Jersey Transit schedules Archived May 9, 2017, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ NJ Transit trip planner
- ^ New Jersey Transit garage locations Archived March 27, 2018, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "NJ Transit Bus Fan Page – Garages". davemackey.com. Archived from the original on October 9, 2013. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
- ^ "NJT Board Meeting September 2023" (PDF). New Jersey Transit. September 14, 2023.
