Newark bus trips accounted for 23.8% of all NJ Transit ridership in 2006. On Monday, April 7, thousands of Newark bus riders will begin to see some long-awaited improvements as NJ Transit unveils two new projects that bring New Jersey a step closer toward true bus rapid transit.
In an effort to keep the City of Newark and the surrounding community moving, officials and community members from Irvington, Newark and NJ Transit collaborated to develop “Go Bus,” the state’s first “premium bus service.” Servicing the 4.8-mile corridor between Irvington Bus Terminal and Newark Penn Station, the new line offers improved seating, lighting and passenger information displays, streamlined service with fewer stops, redesigned user-friendly shelters, strap hangers, and front and rear exit doors for improved boarding.
Go Bus service will operate during weekday morning and evening peak hours, with buses departing Irvington Bus Terminal every 15 minutes from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., and Newark Penn Station every 15 minutes from 4:05 p.m. to 6:05 p.m. Developed with significant rider input, the new fleet includes five newly rehabilitated buses, and offers riders a new aesthetic experience, with eye-catching blue and green buses, signs and shelters. The new buses will travel from Springfield and Market Streets and down Broad Street in existing bus-only lanes.
Similarly, NJ Transit and the City of Newark are designating the center lane of Raymond Blvd as an exclusive bus lane (XBL) during evening peak hours (3:30 – 6:30) in an effort to facilitate mobility and safety in the Newark Penn Station area. Although less than 1000 feet in length, the dedicated lane, specialized signalization, and recently completed pedestrian improvements around the station will ease congestion, protect transit riders en route to and from the station, and keep buses running on schedule.
These projects represent good starting points toward a true bus rapid transit system, similar to the one proposed for Newark’s Bloomfield Avenue corridor. BRT is a great congestion mitigation tool, provides a speedy incentive to ride instead of drive, and increase the capacity of lanes without widening. Ultimately, the addition of pre-boarding fare collection and possibly traffic signal priority would lift Go Bus into the category of true bus rapid transit. Nevertheless, we are excited to see forward movement in this vital urban corridor.
Has NJ Transit Won the Tri-State BRT Race?
MTR readers may recall a question we posed back in 2006: Which agency in the tri-state area will be the first to implement bus rapid transit? (See MTR # 542 and graphic at right, also from 2006.)
NJ Transit’s Go Bus service will launch on Monday, but MTR isn’t ready to call the race yet. Across the Hudson, NYC is also moving towards the finish line; bus rapid transit (including pre-boarding fare collection) will launch in the Bronx in June of this year.
While completion of Connecticut’s Hartford-New Britain Busway is still years away, the state may have another entrant in the race. According to the Stamford Advocate, the South Western Regional Planning Agency is studying a bus rapid transit for Route 1 between Norwalk and Greenwich.
So, readers, we pose the question to you: Has NJ Transit won the race?
4 Comments
It depends how rapid it is:
http://capntransit.blogspot.com/2008/01/ending-brt-bait-and-switch-how-rapid.html
Rapid Bus Transit is the right way to go. More time and money should go into the development of rapid bus transit. Too much emphasis is put on the rails. Bus is much more efficient and serves more people.
It’s not a race….if it were you’re saying that no one else in the region should do improved bus service because NJ did it first.
If it’s worth doing in a particular corridor, it’s worth doing, period. If what NJT is doing works it can be an example to point to. But don’t insult our intelligence by setting up foolish competition where none exists, nor should any.
If you think bus is more efficient, you don’t know what you’re talking about. Case closed.
As far as the race to BRT? I live in Newark — this is not BRT. It’s nice to see a bus stopping at fewer stops, but the lanes it travels in are by no means dedicated.
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[...] with NJDOT’s Broad Street streetscape improvements (see MTR # 559) and NJ Transit’s Go Bus, Newark’s redevelopment plan reflects an understanding among local and state officials that [...]
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