You will be hard pressed to find someone in New Jersey who would disagree that the state’s transportation infrastructure has not kept up with the pace of development. And this certainly couldn’t be more true in Bergen County, New Jersey’s most populous county, which covers 247 square miles and has a population of over 900,000.
The rail lines that operate in Bergen County — NJ Transit‘s Bergen County Line, Pascack Valley Line and much of the Main Line — serve the needs of those commuting to and from New York City, but the system does not adequately address the needs of over half of its residents who commute within the county.
With that in mind, NJ Transit and Bergen County kicked off information sessions last week to discuss a study of the potential for a county-wide bus rapid transit (BRT) system. While officials know they need to address the County’s congested roads, they’ve yet to figure out where in Bergen County such a system should serve, or if BRT is the appropriate solution. What they do know is that road expansion is costly and does nothing to solve congestion in the long-term. An intra-county BRT system may fit the needs of Bergen County, a relatively dense suburban county. BRT has shown to work in similar contexts and the benefits are well established: more flexible operating pattern, more frequent service than normal bus transit, faster travel times, traffic signal priority, pay-before-you-board technology, and the ability to jumpstart economic development along its routes. Whatever recommendations NJ Transit arrives at, this is a good first step toward addressing the transit needs of Bergen County.
Use the rail rights of way for frequent rail service where appropriate, have a unified fare structure like Hamburg, Germany or the Rhein-Ruhr area where one can use buses, trains, light rail, monorail or ferries on a trip within the zones paid for and transfer as needed WITHOUT COST OR PENALTY. Bus Rapid Transit in most cases can’t beat a well designed streetcar system let alone light rail.
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