New Jersey Bus Service Update

 As New York and New Jersey begins to reopen, private New Jersey carriers are slowly coming back with service restored to many lines.  As of today, DeCamp has returned for the second time since it suspended service completely last summer.  It began running limited rush hour service on its 33, 44 and 66 lines.  Timetables available  at Decamp.com.  Other NJ private carriers such as Lakeland, Short Line, Community, Suburban have been  operating rush hour service only to and from New York on most of their routes for the past year, with little or no off-peak or weekend service as of now.  Rockland Coaches is only running a few rush hour runs, and its 14 and 21 lines still remain completely suspended.  NJ Transit has been running its regular bus and rail schedules with just some minor adjustments.  

In other news, Academy has lost all of its contract work with NJ Transit, with Coach USA about to take over the 2, 10, 22, 23, 88 and 119 routes.  Details here.   Academy was hit with a whistleblower lawsuit alleging many missed trips and doctoring missed trip reporting over many years.  NJ Transit has subsequently removed Academy from all of NJT's contract operations.  

And finally, some good NJBus news.  There has been movement in replacing the crumbling Port Authority Bus Terminal in midtown.  The Port Authority has released new designs and is holding virtual scoping meetings on June 23 and June 24th and is accepting public comments through July 19th.

We hope everyone has stayed safe and is doing well and looking forward to better days ahead.

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.

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.

Port Authority Finally Begins Planning New Bus Terminal

The Port Authority has finally begun planning for a new mid-town bus terminal to replace its over-crowded and crumbling bus terminal.  They have implemented a design competition and hope to select the winning design by next September.  Officials estimate the cost of the new terminal to be approximately $10 billion. We see this as a step in the right direction, but it is a painfully slow process and will not alleviate any of the current problems with the terminal. Please click here for more on this story.

Port Authority to Realign Some Bus Gates at Terminal This Fall

The Port Authority will be realigning certain NJT gates and Coach USA gates starting this September at the Port Authority Bus Terminal.  Gates affected will be on the third and fourth floors of the terminal. This is part of the effort to reduce delays and improve movement of buses into and out of the terminal.  It will be years until major renovations or a new terminal will be built so hopefully these changes will help alleviate some of the overcrowding and congestion that has been plaguing the terminal for years.  For more on the story, click here.

NJBus Briefs May 2, 2015

David Wildstein Pleads Guilty in GWB BridgeGate Scandal and Two Others Indicted.  The New York Times reports that David Wildstein, a former Port Authority official and a high school friend of Governor Christie, pleaded guilty at the United States District Court in Newark to conspiracy to commit fraud and conspiracy against civil rights in the GWB BridgeGate Scandal when toll lanes were closed in Fort Lee because the mayor didn't endorse Christie.  Two other former Port Authority officials, Bill Baroni and Bridget Anne Kelly, were charged conspiracy to commit fraud among other counts.  Click here for the full story.

No standees allowed on new CNG buses.  NJT's new MCI compressed natural gas buses can't handle the weight of standing room only passengers and won't pick up standees once the buses are full.  The buses, based out of the Howell garage, seat 57 passengers and run on the Route 9 routes including the 139.  Click here for the full story.

NJT Pays Fair Lawn Couple for Bus By-Pass.  A couple from Fair Lawn received a check from NJ Transit for $170 when they complained about the 164 bus passing them by causing them to miss the theater in New York.  Apparently the bus wasn't a full CNG bus.  Click here for the full story.

George Washington Bridge Bus Station Renovations

Construction at the George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal continues as part of its $183 million renovation.  On Monday August 25, the concourse level and the lower departure levels were closed leaving only the upper level available for bus arrivals and departures.  Passengers must use steep temporary stair cases to enter and leave the station.  A trailer has been set up on Fort Washington Avenue where passengers can use rest rooms, wait for their bus and buy tickets.  Passengers will also have to exit the terminal and walk outside to catch the A train at 177th and Ft. Washington Ave.

This phase of the construction is expected to last approximately one year.  More information about the renovations, and some renderings of what the terminal will look like are available here.

Bus service and ridership to the terminal has diminished over the past few years.  Hopefully the revived terminal will attract new riders as an alternative to the decrepit and overcrowded Port Authority Bus Terminal in midtown.  We continue to advocate for increased bus service over the GWB to the terminal.   Innovative new express routes, service to midtown via the east side and express bus lanes at the bridge are all potential solutions at little additional investment to the infrastructure to help alleviate overcrowding at the Port Authority Bus Terminal.   

The XBL

With all of the recent news about the Port Authority Bus Terminal finally getting an overhaul with some money allocated for renovations, one question remains:  if you build it, how will the buses come?  A new or expanded bus terminal, which is still light years away, is just one piece of solving the delays at the terminal. 

An expanded or new terminal is useless if buses can't access it.  There has been a lot of talk of how a new terminal is needed, but little discussion on how to improve the flow of traffic into and out of the terminal.

Each morning, thousands of buses use the XBL.  The XBL, short for "Exclusive Bus Lane," (although we think it means "extremely slow bus lane") is a reverse-flow lane set up on Route 495 each morning in the west bound lanes for buses to travel to the Lincoln Tunnel and the Port Authority Bus Terminal.  The problem is, it isn't very "exclusive" as upwards of 2,000 buses use the XBL each morning. 

During the morning peak, hundreds of buses line up on the NJ Turnpike - both from the North and the South - waiting to merge to enter the XBL.  Buses from Route 3 also need to merge to access the XBL - those buses actually have to line up and then travel west on 495 for about a quarter mile (and creating even more traffic jams) just to enter the XBL and then back-track east in the XBL to get the city. 

The wait just to merge and enter the XBL often exceeds 30 minutes.  When a bus breaks down in the XBL, the whole thing grinds to a halt for hours and you might as well call in sick to work.

What is mind-boggling is that the local lanes of 495 are often moving well, yet hundreds of buses still line up and wait to use the clogged XBL.  This creates a commute that is often 30-40 minutes longer than if the buses took the local lanes and avoided the XBL.  The original premise of the XBL was for a quicker commute, not a longer one.  We find this incredibly inefficient and frustrating for both bus drivers and bus commuters.

But, what can be done? 

There are no immediate plans to build any more tunnels into NYC for vehicular traffic - and the Christie administration scrapped construction of the rail tunnel that would have been the only long term solution for relieving any trans-Hudson congestion.   The Christie administration loves to create traffic jams, doesn't it?

In the short term,  a second XBL should be added during the morning rush in the east bound lanes of 495.  Alternatively, buses should be instructed to use the local lanes when the XBL is clogged and the local lanes are moving relatively smoothly.  It makes no sense for hundreds of buses to have to wait upwards of 30 minutes to enter the XBL when 495 is moving.  Either the Port Authority Police or NJT Officials should be able to direct this at little additional cost.

An XBL outbound at the Lincoln Tunnel should also be set up to help alleviate the overcrowding at the terminal for the afternoon rush.  One lane of the Lincoln Tunnel and westbound on 495 should be dedicated just to buses. 

Ideally, the perfect solution is to build much needed new rail and vehicular tunnels into New York.   Until that happens, making better use of the resources we already have is a no-brainer.

Senator Weinberg Advocating for a New Port Authority Bus Terminal -- updated

New Jersey State Senator Loretta Weinberg has set her sights on replacing the aging and outdated Port Authority Bus Terminal.  As we reported previously, the aging midtown terminal is plagued with delays, overcrowding and in need of major expansion.  Senator Weinberg has become active in this regard by conducting transit forums to hear rider complaints and attending Port Authority meetings.  We applaud Senator Weinberg in taking the lead in advocating for a new terminal but it will likely take years before any improvements will be seen. 

Senator Weinberg is taking written testimony regarding commuting problems into New York until July 7, and will be presenting at the NJT Board Meeting on July 9th.  You can e-mail your comments to her at:  SenWeinberg@njleg.org .

No Relief In Sight for Port Authority Bus Terminal Commuters

New Jersey commuters have known for quite some time how bad conditions are at the Port Authority Bus Terminal.  Riders have to wait each evening in long lines that wrap around the concourse.  Traffic around the Lincoln Tunnel is a nightmare, and getting worse.  Both Bloomberg and The Record have recently reported how the terminal is outdated, overcrowded, in disrepair, but yet there are no immediate plans to remedy the problems.

The Record reports how there is no space to park buses.  They have to travel empty back to New Jersey after their morning runs to park, only to return for the evening rush.  This creates even more traffic jams inbound at the Lincoln Tunnel and at the terminal.  An expanded or new terminal is needed, as well as a garage to park the buses. 

Capital funding for a bus garage, however, was withdrawn.  Yet the Port Authority is planning on spending $1.5 billion to extend the PATH line to Newark Airport. Instead of allocating funding to remedy problems at the bus terminal, the agency would rather spend billions to duplicate rail service that is already provided by NJ Transit.

There is a parking garage for cars on the top level of the terminal.  A short term solution could be to use this space for buses - but this is not in the Port Authority's plans.  We only suppose this is because the Port Authority would rather rake in $45 a day in daily parking fees to fill its coffers as opposed to providing more efficient public transportation.  The parking revenues alone could help fund improvements to the terminal.