NJ Live Bus

Want to see exactly where your bus currently is in real time?  How about where every NJT bus is currently located on the map?  Check out NJ Live Bus.  This cool website is not only informative in showing you exactly where the bus is, it is fun to watch the buses drive around the map!

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.

Rockland Coaches Fare Increase Effective May 1, 2015

Bus riders of private bus lines in Northern New Jersey and Rockland County are also facing fare increases.  Rockland Coaches is quietly raising fares for the second consecutive year on May 1.  The new fares are posted on their website and can be found here. 

NJT recently announced a potential 9% fare increase for this fall.

NJT Proposed 9% Fare Hike and Service Cuts for Fall 2015

It looks like New Jersey bus and rail commuters will once again be paying more for less.  NJT is proposing a 9% fare increase and some rail and service cuts beginning in September 2015. 

The proposed bus cuts mostly involve bus routes serving South Jersey:

419 Camden – Pennsauken – Burlington:  Proposed Elimination of Service Between Riverside and Burlington City

463 Woodbury – Avandale Park-Ride: Proposed Elimination of the Last PM Trip in Each direction

307 Freehold – Great Adventure: Proposed Service Discontinuance

318 Philadelphia – Great Adventure: Proposed Service Discontinuance

655 Princeton – Plainsboro: Proposed Service Discontinuance

872 Morristown – Route 10 – Livingston:  Proposed Elimination of Service Between Mack-Cali (Parsippany) and Livingston Mall

 

Two late night trains out of Hoboken are also on the chopping block:  The 12:45AM Pascack Valley Line train and the 12:32AM Montclair Boonton Line train.

A series of public hearings are scheduled for next month including one on May 20 from 5:30-8:30PM in Hackensack at The Learning Center, 4th Floor, One Bergen County Plaza. 

For further information, including the new higher fares and the other hearing times can be found here.

Possible NJT 9% Fare Increase

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that NJT may announce a 9% fare increase as early as this week.  The increase would be the first in five years but comes at a time when delays and infrastructure issues for both rail and bus commuters are at an all time high.   No official word as of yet regarding the fare increase or whether there will be any service cuts. 

Another Long Commute Home For Port Authority Bus Terminal Commuters.

A bus fatally hit a man inside the Port Authority Bus Terminal leading to massive delays inside and outside of the terminal.  The second and fourth floors were completely shut down due to overcrowding.  Buses were delayed well over an hour and traffic on 495 in to the Lincoln Tunnel was backed up for miles. 

Buses sat outside the terminal as well as on the approaches to the Lincoln Tunnel.  NJT rail was cross-honoring tickets, but NJT made little other contingency plans.  Trains were delayed out of Penn Station because of problems with the Portal Bridge.

Buses could have been diverted to Secaucus Junction and/or the GWB terminal to help alleviate congestion until the investigation and scene was cleared.  No such contingencies were put into place.  This lead to another very long commute home. 

More on the story here and here.

Our condolences go out to the family of the man who was killed inside the terminal.

NJT Monthly My Tix App Now Available for NYC Interstate Bus Riders

NJT announced today the introduction of the My Tix Monthly Bus Pass for NYC bus commuters.  This is great news for those bus passengers who are tired of waiting in long lines to buy their monthly passes each month from ticket windows or ticket vending machines.  Click here to download the Android version and here for the iPhone app.