Buses have always moved the majority of NJ Transit’s passengers, but even with the coronavirus pandemic, more people are riding buses than trains and light rail.
A study by the Regional Plan Association says now is the time to plow more resources into that bus network that is heavily relied on by frontline and essential workers. Of the 16,000 people responding to NJ Transit’s most recent survey, 73% said they rode South Jersey buses and 63% traveled on local buses in North Jersey to and from work.
The RPA report made a few overarching recommendations:
- More funding for buses, specifically from a second $1.2 billion requested in a second CARES Act request by NJ Transit to make up for revenue losses. RPA calls for finding federal funding sources to keep existing transit service rolling through at least summer 2022.
- Using a greater share of New Jersey Turnpike Authority toll revenues to support NJ Transit and to end the agency’s decades-long practice of shifting funding for major “capital” projects and purchases to cover operating expenses.
Advocates and findings from legislative investigations have called for a dedicated source of funding for NJ Transit’s operations -- something it lacks now -- to reduce the amount of money that’s transferred from its capital budget to its operating budget, which this year was $460 million. Ideas in the report include using revenues from sales tax, Corporate Business Income Tax, and other sources, to fund it.
The report also proposed several ideas for better bus service, including:
- Dedicated bus lanes. A problem and complaint is buses get stuck in traffic. With only 8 miles of dedicated bus lanes in the state, RPA called for more bus lanes in North Jersey. By comparison, New York City has 15 times more bus lanes than all of New Jersey.
- Give buses priority at traffic signals and create more bus lanes on congested roads. NJDOT should use direct funding and change policies to make buses faster and more convenient for riders.
- Add service when necessary to reduce overcrowding on bus routes. NJ Transit did that in the spring, responding to reports of crowding on bus routes such as the #1 bus in Newark. At times, the agency changed service to coincide with shift changes for warehouses and other employers on bus routes.
- Create a single statewide transportation plan that prioritizes social equity, public transit, and transit-dependent populations, especially bus riders who don’t have a car and rely on mass transit. That would especially help residents in cities such as Newark, where 38% of households do not have access to a vehicle. That figure is 11% for the state.
“Commuters using bus and rail face consistently longer travel times (on average 75 minutes) than riders who commute by personal vehicle (on average 30 minutes),” the report said.
The report is not just directed at NJ Transit, but also at Gov. Phil Murphy, and state legislators.
NJ Transit is starting to redesign its bus system, beginning in Newark, said Jim Smith, an NJ Transit spokesman.
“We appreciate the input, support and advocacy from our partners at the RPA and we continue to engage them and the broader advocacy network to receive ideas,” he said. “As that (redesign) process continues to move forward there will be opportunities for public input and engagement. We look forward to working with all of our stakeholders as we build the future of our bus network.”
This isn’t the first report with recommendations to improve bus service. The Tri-State Transportation Campaign called for a 10- point bus riders bill of rights last month. That built on Tri-State’s multipoint plan presented in September 2019 to make NJ Transit buses easier to ride, less confusing and cleaner, to attract more riders.
Both the RPA and Tri-State reports include recommendations in NJ Transit’s five year capital and strategic plans that were introduced this year. Both said better funding is needed to specific recommendations in those plans happen.
The recommendations got broad support from lawmakers, public officials and advocates.
“Many of the essential workers in health care, grocery and food services, e‑commerce and retail, who have heroically sustained all of us through the pandemic, rely on the bus to get to work,” said Michael G. McGuinness, CEO of NAIOP NJ, The Commercial Real Estate Development Association, in statement.
“These workers are also least able to afford fare increases. NAIOP NJ supports RPA’s call for an equitable and dedicated public revenue source for the expansion of and enhancements to NJ Transit’s bus services.”
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Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com.
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