NJ Transit Problems & Some Solutions

New Jersey Transit can attract new riders by improving bus service and making their website more user friendly, according to two new studies issued today by the New Jersey Chapter of the Sierra Club

The New Jersey Chapter of the Sierra Club identified problems with NJ Transit’s bus scheduling and website in two studies funded by a grant by the Sierra Club Foundation’s Clean Transportation for All Campaign.  The reports identify opportunities to increase bus and rail ridership by providing frequent service on bus routes and by providing reliable information on schedules, trip planning, and service disruptions.

“There has been a lot of focus on fixing the commuter nightmare for people taking the train. However NJ Transit’s bus service can be even worse at times and it is not getting enough attention. The report identifies some of the problems with NJ Transit buses and presents solutions  that will hold NJ Transit more accountable to their bus riders. The report finds that with more coordination and transparency of New Jersey’s transportation system via trains, buses, and ferries, we can run more efficiently,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.

One way to generate new ridership according the club’s report is to publicize and expand “frequent service corridors.” These are bus routes with headways no longer than 15 minutes.  This allows customers to “Show Up and Go” without consulting timetables or having long waits.  After analyzing over 60 bus corridors in Union, Essex, Hudson, Bergen & Passaic counties, the Sierra Club determined that NJ Transit could more than double the existing 14 frequent service corridors with minimal schedule adjustments or additional service. Critically, most of these corridors occur in environmental justice communities where 35% or more of the residents have poverty level incomes.

“Over the past six months, the Chapter has completed two reports that we offer to the Board, in the hopes that the recommendations we put forth will be accepted and implemented by NJT.  The first report looks at how providing and promoting frequent bus service, defined as 15 minute headways or less, has proved to successfully increase bus ridership in peer metropolitan areas across the country. Our second report takes a deep dive look at the myriad, and often confusing, desktop and mobile trip planning and scheduling apps on NJ Transit’s websites, and offers numerous examples of inaccurate, misleading, or incomplete information provided by the alerts and advisories prepared by NJ Transit staff,” said Bill Beren, Transportation Chair, New Jersey Sierra Club.

Furthermore, NJ Transit does not promote its frequent service routes, unlike other transit agencies that have realized major ridership growth after issuing maps that highlight these services. Cities such as Richmond, Seattle, Austin, Minneapolis and Portland, Oregon, have shown that providing frequent service, combined with an aggressive public information campaign promoting this service, leads to significant ridership gains.  Maps that highlight frequent service routes were an effective way to publicize these routes in all of the comparison cities.  Gains of 2-3 % were seen, and even larger gains were realized when combined with redesigned routes to reflect current travel needs.  It is notable that New Jersey Transit does not currently produce county-wide or regional service maps for buses, in itself an example of the poor public information provided by NJ Transit.

“More ambitiously, NJT could easily expand the reach of frequent service with coordinated timetables and targeted service increases. This would not only broaden the network in Hudson, Essex, and Union Counties, but would also bring frequent weekday bus service to Bergen and Passaic Counties. And in every county, this potential network would benefit environmental justice communities with high poverty rates and low household car ownership rates,” said Matt Bewley, intern NJ Sierra Club Transportation Committee.  “NJ Transit already moves thousands of people around northeastern New Jersey every day. By joining its national and regional peers in implementing a frequent bus network, it could move thousands more.”

The second study released by the Sierra Club examined how bus and train schedules, service delays, and interruptions are presented on the NJ Transit website and mobile apps.  The analysis found seven major problems.  Chief among them is the failure to include non NJ Transit bus service run by private carriers, contract carriers, counties, and colleges, are not included in their rider tools such as trip planning and service alerts.  Other problems are that similar apps on the NJ Transit website and mobile apps do not provide the same information, system maps showing bus, rail, and ferry by region are not available, service alerts and advisories are often inaccurate or unhelpful, and more (see full report attached).

“By running NJ Transit buses in a frequent manner while creating service routes for better  on time performance, we can  fill the empty seats on NJ Transit buses. This will help buses run more efficiently. We need to update NJ Transit and bring it into the 21st century with electric buses, on-board Wi-Fi and smart buses to get through traffic. Since cars, buses, and trucks account for almost 50% of New Jersey’s greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming, getting more people to use public transit for commuting and other trips is a critical strategy to halt further climate change,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “Our club wants to continue support for bus riders They have experienced some of the worst service. Many people who take the bus in inner city areas of Hudson County for example are handicap, seniors, and young people who are part of the working core and can’t afford cars. They deserve to have a voice and they deserve better transportation.”

Link to Reports:

• Clean Transportation for All: Building a Frequent Service Bus Network for Northeastern New Jersey
• Clean Transportation for All: Improving Access to New Jersey Public Transit Information