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.

NJBUS Pic of the Week

Rockland Coaches Route 14K at GWBBS in 2014

NJBUS Pic of the Week

Trans-Bridge Lines entering Lincoln Tunnel August 2015

NJBUS Pic of the Week

NJT 165T at Lincoln Tunnel August 2015

The New NJT Mobile App - Your Ticket and More

NJ Transit unveiled the newest version of its Mobile App yesterday. Users can still purchase and display their NJT bus and rail tickets using the MyTix feature, but this version of the app does even more.  It  incorporates Mybus and DepartureVision that show in real time when your bus or train will arrive (or how late it will be). Users can also find bus and rail schedules and use Trip Planner to plan their route.  These features were previously only available on the NJT mobile website.

The Android version of the app is available for free download in the Google Play Store here.

The Ipad/Iphone version of the app is a free download at the iTunes store.  Click here for more info.

Port Authority Gate Shuffle - September 8, 2015

DeCamp Bus Route 33 seen today at newly reassigned lower level gate.

The Great Port Authority Bus Terminal Gate Shuffle commenced today to some minor rider confusion but overall went relatively smoothly.  Hundreds of Port Authority and NJT employees wearing shiny yellow uniforms were on hand to help riders find their buses.  Overall, 55 bus routes were re-assigned to new departure gates.  Hopefully the new assignments will help alleviate congestion in the terminal but only time will tell. A new expanded facility and more improvements are still greatly needed. 

For more details on the new gate assignments, please see our previous post and also the Port Authority website.

Port Authority Bus Terminal Gates Shuffling -- Effective September 8, 2015

Get ready for some commuter confusion at the Port Authority beginning in September.  As we previously reported, officials at the Port Authority Bus Terminal will be reassigning gates for many NJ Transit and private bus lines effective September 8, 2015.  Affected gates are on the third and fourth floors of the terminal.  Affected NJT lines include routes 107, 108, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 122, 124, 129, 139, 144, 151, 153, 155, 157, 160, 161, 163, 164, 165, 168, 190, 194, 195, 197, 198, 199, 321.  Some gate changes are only for late night departures depending on the line.  Full details regarding the new NJT gate assignments can be found here.

Lakeland Bus Lines that previously departed from gates 401-405 will now depart from Gates 206-207.  More info can be found here

DeCamp Bus Lines will be moving to the lower level of the South Wing using Gates 12-20.  An alert on their website currently breaks out the new route assignments.

Community Coach will be assigned to Gates 412-413 for its Route 77 line.

Rockland Coaches:

Route 45 will be reassigned to Gates 410-411.
Routes 46, 47 will be reassigned to Gate 411.
Routes 9 and 49 will still depart from Gate 208 until 10PM.  Later trips will depart from Gate 410.  Routes 11A, 14E, 20, 21T will still depart from Gate 220 until 10PM.  Later trips depart from Gate 411.

Shortline buses will be assigned to Gates 401-409.

The new gate assignments will supposedly allow buses to move more effectively within the building which could alleviate delays.  Only time will tell.  In the short run, we think there is going to be a lot of confused commuters and platform crowding as commuters try to find their buses on September 8th.  Hopefully officials will do a better job at communicating these changes to the public than they have in the past.

More details can be found on the Port Authority website.