By Walter Elliott
NEWARK – New Jersey Transit’s New Bus Newark plan – affecting 38 bus routes that start, stop and/or end in Newark – is nearing a final draft as of press time.
The state’s public transit carrier has spent 2021 working on the first overhaul of the metro Newark bus system since NJTransit Bus Operations bought Transport of NJ/Public Service Coordinated Transit in 1980.
The work included April 8 and Aug. 12 public meetings, with draft route recommendations at the latter, and accepting public questions, suggestions and comments until Sept. 9.
That Aug. 12 draft recommendations suggest frequency changes on all the said bus routes and route changes on most. Bus frequency will range from five minutes peak weekday service on the heaviest used routes to 30-to-60-minute weekend intervals on the less-traveled routes.
Routes 13 and 27 will join the 1 and 62 in having 24-hour service on at least weekdays. There will be seven shuttles – Routes 3,4, 8, 9, 14, 74 and 776 – broken off from existing routes.
The Go 28, 72, 108 and 378 routes, on one hand, will remain unchanged. Nor are changes planned for the 26 and 97 routes since they do not enter Newark.
The 24 A&B, 31 and 44 routes are not included in NBN, for they are operated by CoachUSA subsidiaries. Nor are routes from Decamp, Community Coach or other private bus companies are included.
Eliminated are the Go25, 65-66, 79, 96, 361 and 375 routes. They are either being made redundant by more frequent service or are being replaced by other routes due to low ridership.
The new-look Newark system is based on October 2019 ridership counts, rider feedback and just-released Census 2020 data. NJTransit also tried to take into account changing work and travel patterns – including effects of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.
The Newark bus network currently serves 180,000 daily riders going to work, school, worship, shopping and/or other events as far out as Paterson, Hackensack, Manhattan, Bridgewater and Parsippany.
NJTransit found that 940,000 people live and 404,600 jobs exist within a quarter-mile of its bus service. Boardings within Newark account for 57 percent of overall daily boardings.
The 42 percent of riders want more frequent rush hour and off-hours service. They also desired transit access to the Kearny and Linden Walmarts plus improved service along the Belleville Avenue, Eagle Rock and Mt. Pleasant Avenue corridors.
NJTransit found that the 1 and 13 has the heaviest route ridership. The 1, 21 and 25 routes have the most frequent service.
The carrier then created four categories among three corridor types based on frequency.
The 1, 21 and 25 routes, as New Bus Newark Type 1A, are to run with five-minute intervals between Ivy Hill Loop and Newark Penn Station, Main and Day-NPS and Chancellor Avenue-NPS.
The 11, 13, 27, 28, 29 and 94 routes, as NBN Type 1B, are to run between 7.5 to 10 min. The 11, 28 and 29 will do so between NPS and Montclair, the 13 between Irvington Terminal/Valley Fair and Belleville’s Big Tree Garage, the 27 between Irvington Terminal and Branch Brook Park Station and the 94 between Bloomfield Center and Irvington Terminal.
NJTransit may remove several bus stops along Type 1 corridors for speed and a Bus Rapid Transit experience. It will work with municipal and county road departments and NJDOT in prioritizing said buses at traffic signals.
Buses in Type 2, or “frequent” corridors are to have all-weekday 12-to-15-min. intervals. Type 3 corridor buses are to have at least 30-min. all-weekday to 60-min. weekend service.
It is said that the divine or the infernal is found in the details. “Local Talk” herewith gives an overview of those details. One may also examine the 52-page draft recommendations on www.njtransit.com/project-materials.
The No. 1 bus’ eastern terminus, for example, will be Chapel and Fleming streets. Its two Jersey City branches to Exchange Place and Journal Square will become Routes 3 and 4, starting at Newark Penn.
The No. 1 will stop on US Truck Rt. 1-9 so riders can transfer to the Route 14 South Kearny Shuttle loop bus.
The 13 Nutley and Clifton branches, north of Big Tree Garage, will be replaced by the 74 and/or the new 75 Branch Brook Park-Delawanna Shuttle.
The 21 will continue to run between NPS and Orange’s Main and Day streets. Those wanting to go to West Orange’s Mississippi Avenue loop may do so with the new 775 Orange-Eagle Rock-Livingston Mall route. The 775 also runs on segments cut from the present 71 and 73 routes.
Riders on the former 71 and 73 buses will also transfer at the Main and Day “mobility hub.”
The 71 will become the 771 to Parsippany via Route 10. Its rush hour Fairfield Loop will become the 774. The 73 becomes the 773 to Livingston Mall via RWJBarnabas Health’s St. Barnabas Hospital. Its Florham Park leg will be served by a Morris County Metro bus from Livingston Mall.
The 25’s endpoints will be NPS and Chancellor Avenue at the Irvington/Maplewood border. The 25’s Ironbound service to Wilson and Doremus avenues will continue as the East Ferry Route 9 shuttle.
Those going west of Chancellor Avenue have a choice between the No. 70 and the new 776 shuttle. The 776, made up of former 25, 70 and 94 segments, will loop through Maplewood, Millburn, Springfield and Union.
The 11, 28 and 29 routes will run together along the Bloomfield Avenue corridor before they start splitting off at Montclair’s Park Street (for the 28) and at Verona’s Newark-Pompton Turnpike (for the 11.) All of the 11’s trips will run through Little Falls’ Main Street and Stevens Avenue.
The 28 will end at Montclair State University. Willowbrook Mall-bound riders may transfer to the existing 705 bus. The 29 will end at West Caldwell’s Kirkpatrick Lane by the Essex Mall.
All 27s will terminate at Branch Brook Park station. The 27 Bloomfield service will be dropped due to low ridership. 27 Forest Hill and Nutley/Clifton riders may transfer to the No. 75 shuttle.
Irvington Terminal will be the 94’s new southern terminus.
A new 54 route will continue on Stuyvesant from Irvington Terminal and split off in Union for either the NJTransit Linden railroad station or Union County College’s Cranford Campus.
94 Stanley Terrace-Rt. 22 riders may use the 776 shuttle.
Regarding individual routes:
· The No. 5 Kinney Street, on its east end, will be extended from NPS to the Kearny Walmart vis Harrison Avenue. Its west end will terminate at Springfield Avenue and Bergen Street, discontinuing its South 10th Street service through Fairmount Heights.
· The 30 Kearny route will replace the 76 Newark-Hackensack route along Belgrove Avenue. The 76 will run on Kearny Avenue instead – and lose its east of Rt. 17 local Bergen County service to the Nos. 144, 164 and 772.
· The 34 Newark-Bloomfield-Montclair route will lose its South Street service to the new No. 8 Ironbound Loop. Its 34 Bloomfield service will bypass its First Avenue – Hoffman Boulevard-Henshaw segment. Select 34Ms will still serve Montclair High School.
· The 37 Lyons Avenue route will stay on Clinton Avenue instead of first taking Springfield Avenue and Grove Street “with future Irvington Bus Terminal improvements.” It will reach the airport on Haynes Avenue instead of taking US Rts. 22 and 1-9.
· The 39 Newark-Irvington Route will lose its 39X express runs. It will also bypass its Bigelow Street-Elizabeth Avenue segment.
· The 40 Kearny-Jersey Gardens route will stay on the Newark Liberty International Airport segment but lose its ports Newark and Elizabeth segment. It will connect at Brewster Road with a “Microtransit Zone” featuring an on-demand shuttle service to port locations.
· The 59 Newark-Plainfield route will feature 15 min. service frequency to Elizabeth and alternating runs to Dunellen. The 114 and 117’s services will replace the No. 59 between Dunellen and Bridgewater Commons Mall.
· The No. 62 Newark-Elizabeth route will lose its Division Street-Ikea segment in Elizabeth to the No. 40.
· The No. 65 Newark-Somerville and No. 66 to Mountainside service will be discontinued and replaced by the 52, 114 and 117 routes.
· The 70 will lose its downtown Millburn Avenue and Florham Park segments. They will be served by the new 776 shuttle or an MCM bus.
· The 78 Newark-Secaucus route will no longer serve NJTransit’s Secaucus Junction Bus Plaza.
· The 90 Grove Street route will enjoy 15-min. weekday and 30-min. weekend service. All runs, however, will end at Irvington Terminal; its Valley Fair segment added to the No. 99 route.
· The No. 92 Orange Crosstown will be renamed the Orange-North Arlington Crosstown. All 92s will continue east on Belleville Avenue from Bloomfield through Belleville and Kearny’s Belleville Turnpike to the North Arlington Loop.
· The 92, however, will no longer serve Belleville’s RWJBH Clara Maass Hospital and Branch Brook Park/Newark Light Rail Station. It will also lose the Henry Street jog between Lincoln Avenue and North Day Street in Orange.
· The 99 Hillside route will turn north in Hillside back into Irvington on a former portion of the No. 90. The 99 will end its runs at Irvington Terminal.
· The 107 South Orange-Irvington-New York route will be split into two NYC-bound routes. 107 “proper” will still run from South Orange Station and Irvington Terminal – and express thereafter to the Port Authority Bus Terminal. It will no longer make local stops in Union City.
· The new 105 route will continue non-express runs from the Ivy Hill Loop to NYC via Lyons Avenue It will serve EWR at its North Terminal.
NJTransit is to hold a final NBN presentation and public hearing before its board of directors here take a final vote. Although the carrier has slated a fall final unveiling, there has been no date set as of press time.
The “TBA” period may allow riders and residents to post their questions, suggestions, concerns and comments to NJTransit via its social media channels.
