George Washington Bridge Bus Station Renovation Won't Be Complete Until Next Spring -- Hopefully

To no surprise to the thousands of bus commuters who use the George Washington Bridge Bus Station, the renovations that were scheduled be completed by the end of the year will not be completed.  The project that started over two years ago has been plagued by numerous delays. The Record is reporting that the projected completion date has now been pushed back to April 2017.

Passengers not only have had to brave the elements from the wind and cold, they also have endured trekking up a long staircase to reach the buses.

NJ Gas Tax Likely Increasing 23 Cents A Gallon In October

Governor Christie and Democratic Officials have come to an agreement to end the transportation funding crises by agreeing to a hike to the state's gasoline tax by 23 cents a gallon.  The agreement ends a stalemate since the summer that put a halt to virtually all state transportation projects when Governor Christie pulled the plug on all projects until a deal could be reached.  In addition to the gas tax hike, the NJ estate tax would be phased out by 2018.  NJ State sales tax would also be lowered to 6.625% by 2018.  It remains to be seen whether the gas tax increase and offsetting estate and sales tax decreases will be enough to fund the transportation fund, which has been virtually depleted under Governor Christie's watch.  Click here for more on the story.

Port Authority Bus Terminal Gate Reshuffling - Part 2

For the second time in less than a year, certain buses at the Port Authority will be re-assigned to different gates.  Last September, several private bus lines including Coach USA, Decamp and Lakeland had their departure gates changed with the hope of improving on-time performance at the over-crowded and out-dated terminal.  The last re-shuffle lead to a slight improvement of on-time performance, but the terminal is still in dire need of being replaced with a modern and larger terminal.  This time, certain NJT lines are being re-assigned on September 3, 2016 as follows:


Bus Route 122
​
6 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

• Old gate: 315
• New gate: 313

Bus Route 127

10:01 p.m. to 1 a.m.

• Old gate: 230
• New gate: 312

Bus Route 139E

3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

• Old gate: 316
• New gate: 315

Bus Route 144

3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

• Old gate: 313
• New gate: 77

Bus Route 155

3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

• Old gate: 213
• New gate: 74

Bus Route 157

3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

• Old gate: 210
• New gate: 76

Bus Route 163P

3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

• Old gate: 224
• New gate: 78

Bus Route 165T

6 a.m. to 3:29 p.m.

• Old gate: 213 / 310
• New gate: 310

Bus Route 168T

6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

• Old gate: 213
• New gate (6 a.m. to 3:29 p.m., 7:31 p.m. to 10 p.m.): 312
• New gate (3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.): 75

Bus Route 194E&T

6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

• Old gate: 233
• New gate: 231

Bus Route 320

6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

• Old gate: 231
• New gate: 213

Bus Route 324

6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

• Old gate: 233
• New gate: 231

MCI to Stop Production of New NJ Transit Buses Until Transportation Funding Resolved

NJT has notified Motor Coach Industries (MCI) that it must cease all ongoing work under a contract to build new buses to replenishg NJT's aging bus fleet.
MCI was awarded a contract by NJT in November 2015  with options for building and delivering up to 1,219 new coaches over six years.  Many of the coaches to be replaced are over 15 years old and in disrepair. 
Last week, Governor Chris Christie issued Executive Order No. 210 declaring a State of Emergency and directing the Commissioner of the Department of Transportation and the Executive Director of the NJT  shutdown of all ongoing work that is funded by the New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund Account, including work on the new buses.   This was in direct response to the NJ Senate failing to approve Christie's gas tax hike as we reported previously. 
To date, MCI has only delivered five coaches to NJT under the contract.    So there will be NO IMMEDIATE relief for the increased instances of older buses breaking down which causes delays for all commuters.  There will likewise be no immediate relief for bus passengers sweltering in aging coaches with broken air conditioning this summer.  Bravo to our leaders for adding more misery to the plight of daily New Jersey bus riders.

NJ Gas Tax May Rise 23 Cents Per Gallon -- update

Drivers filling up in New Jersey could have been paying an additional 23 cents per gallon starting Friday July 1st in a plan approved by the Assembly and Governor Christie.  The tax increase would have been the first in 26 years and used to replenish the state's depleted transportation fund as well as reducing NJ's sales tax to 6% by 2018 as well as other tax cuts.  The plan was not approved by the State Senate and Governor Christie ordered a shut down of all State road work. More on the story from the New York Times can be found here.

Preliminary Plans For New Port Authority Bus Terminal

The Port Authority has released a report describing some preliminary options for replacing its crumbling mid-town bus terminal. Several options involve relocating long distance inter-city bus services to an unspecified off-site location.  Two alternatives are to construct a new terminal somewhere between 9th and 11th avenues which would mean a lack of direct subway access for commuters.  Others involve keeping the terminal near its current location, which would require interim bus terminal facilities for several years while the terminal is re-built.


The report discusses several near-term options for dealing with commuting issues in and out of the terminal which may seem promising:

• Exploring strategies to manage near term growth at the existing terminal:
• Route consolidation
• Hub & spoke operations
• Hudson River ferries
• Service to other transit hubs in NY and NJ (George Washington Bridge Bus Station, Secaucus Junction, ferry terminals)
• Gate utilization

We have long been an advocate of shifting some buses to run via the under-utilized George Washington Bridge Bus Station, and then via the east side as an alternative to the Lincoln Tunnel and the mid-town terminal.  NJT is already coordinating the NY Waterway ferry on its River Road bus service.  Further, the infamous port authority gate re-shuffling has seemed to alleviate some of the pm rush hour commuting delays.

A new terminal is a must for New Jersey commuters.  However, it looks like it will be years of more commuting chaos for NJ commuters to deal with the current terminal, and then years of construction, and alternate commuting as the new terminal is built.

NJT Rail Settlement

As expected, NJT settled with its rail workers averting a strike this weekend.  A rail strike would have created massive traffic, delays, and massive overcrowding of highways and the bus network into New York City.  We applaud both sides for reaching a deal, but we know that NJ Transit riders will ultimately wind up paying for it through higher fares in the near future.  More details on the settlement can be found here.

Possible NJ Transit Train Strike -- Bus Commuting Options

Negotiations continue to avert an NJ Transit Rail Strike on March 13.  NJT has set up a rail strike contingency plan involving limited rush-hour bus service from several park and rides throughout the state.  It also is offering expanded rush-hour bus service along several bus lines that run near several of its rail lines.  The contingency plan is only expected to accommodate about 40% of its displaced rail riders.  In addition, other NJT bus service will be curtailed including the River Road service on the 156R, 158 and 159R routes which would only run to the Port Imperial Ferry Terminal instead of to New York.  Riders of those lines would have to take a ferry into New York.  Route 126 would also only run in a reverse direction to the Hoboken PATH station in the morning, and from the PATH station in the evening, completely bypassing New York.

Other options for Northern NJ passengers include using the GW Bridge Bus Station services, including NJT Routes 171, 175, 178, 181, 182, 186 and 188.  Rockland Coaches Route 9A, and the Ameribus 11C and 20/84 lines.  This could avoid what will be even longer delays at the Port Authority Bus Terminal.

We suppose there will be some sort of last minute deal made to avert a long-term strike. Unfortunately, it will be the NJ Transit bus and train commuters who have to pay even higher fares in the near future.

Complete NJT Strike Contingency Plans can be found here.

And What Caused (at least part of) The Delay This Morning at the XBL

Feb 12, 2016 XBL Police Activity/More Delays 

Editors Note: A reader of NJBUS Blog forwarded us this story and picture describing an incident this morning that caused delays at the XBL.  If anyone has any further info, feel free to send it our way.

An angry passenger boarded a 164X bus in Fair Lawn this morning around 7:15 am complaining to the driver of an alleged incident on another bus.  The passenger apparently called police complaining he was assaulted on an earlier bus.  By the time the 164 got to the XBL, the entrance to the XBL was clogged as there were numerous police vehicles sporadically stopping bus traffic.  An earlier 164X bus was already pulled over on the XBL shoulder and Port Authority police pulled the later 164X bus off the side of the road.  Port Authority police boarded the bus asking if anyone had a problem with the driver.  The passenger who had the issue stood up complaining about his alleged assault - perhaps by the driver of the earlier bus. Bus traffic at the XBL continued to back up as the Port Authority police and NJT officials investigated the alleged incident interviewing both drivers and checking registrations.

Meanwhile, the passenger who alleged the assault got back on the later 164X and fellow passengers, who were already fuming for the delay of at least 20 minutes, yelled at him to get off the bus since it was his problem, and they were late for work.  The funny thing is that the police put him on another bus and he got to continue his commute while the two 164X buses continued to sit at the XBL for at least another ten minutes while the police continued their "investigation."  As far as we could tell, nobody was arrested for the incident.  After about a half an hour delay, both buses departed, only to get stuck behind a broken down bus on the ramp to the Port Authority Bus Terminal.

NJT - NY Waterway Hudson Go Pass

New Jersey Transit and NY Waterway Ferry have introduced the Hudson Go Pass for commuters using NJT buses 156R, 158, 159R and the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail System.  The pass is good for unlimited rides on these NJT services as well as connecting NY Waterway Ferries from Port Imperial terminal in Weehawken.  The monthly passes cost $280 for ferry trips to midtown and $400 for the downtown ferry service.  We are glad to see the partnership between NJT and NY Waterway to help alleviate overcrowding at the Port Authority Bus Terminal.  However, NY Waterway ferries to New Jersey are still much more expensive than corresponding NJT bus service. More people would be encouraged to switch exclusively to the ferry service if the cost was lowered, which could be accomplished with state-subsidies.  This could be an immediate and simple way to help alleviate the clogged trans-hudson bridges and tunnels as well as the Port Authority Bus Terminal.