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On 12/24/2020 at 12:16 PM, B35 via Church said:

Just wanted share this on the forum.... This was brought to my attention by @checkmatechamp13

There's not too many NJ guys here, but for those of you that are, what are your thoughts about this random guy's assessment of the NJT #419? This is proof that you shouldn't assess an entire route off one freakin trip..... It's basically, train good, bus bad.

I grew up and lived in the Camden/South Jersey area up until 2012 but come home for the Holidays ( like now).  This assessment is very true.  I wonder why the 419 is still in service. Yes the RiverLine runs parallel to this route.  The RiverLine is much faster and this bus route was scaled back a few years ago (as it used to go all the way to Burlington).  I personally think it should be eliminated. It connects with the 452 ( within the Camden City Limits) which is much busier and runs a bit more frequent.  The 419 runs earlier and later when the RiverLine stops running ( which is baffling) since ridership is low during that time anyhow.  Why not add those hours to the 452 and cut this route completely?  But I also think on the same foot the 409 should be scaled back to only Bordentown or Florence as well as opposed to Trenton.  I think if that was done, on-time performance on the 409 would improve drastically.   If you have to go to Trenton, your only option should be RIverline.  I am also confused as to how the 413 was EXTENDED from Burlington to Florence when again, the RiverLine can connect you North of Burlington.  The 413 is already a lengthy route and has become very busy since it stops at both the Cherry Hill and Moorestown Malls now. It is used often since it is like a mall express bus as it does not cut through all of East Camden like the 404, 405 and 407.  I can imagine on time performance is lack luster again on the 413 now too.  NJ Transit definitely should do a thorough assessment in Burlington County of those three routes. 

Edited by Tranzitfan81
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On 12/24/2020 at 12:16 PM, B35 via Church said:

Just wanted share this on the forum.... This was brought to my attention by @checkmatechamp13

There's not too many NJ guys here, but for those of you that are, what are your thoughts about this random guy's assessment of the NJT #419? This is proof that you shouldn't assess an entire route off one freakin trip..... It's basically, train good, bus bad.

Well let's start off with the fact that this guy pretty much rode a bus at 7:45am on a Sunday. Maybe no one was on it because half of whatever ridership that's on that line was I dunno sleeping. 

Edited by DaTransitMan4608
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  • 2 weeks later...

Rode the 107X today, felt weird riding an transit bus on an extended highway run. Most MTA or NJT routes I ride with long highway runs usually use OTR coaches. Bus wasn't nerfed ethier, it was able to keep up with highway traffic. 

 

 

Next up is the 76 or ride an XD60 on a Fairview route, curious as to how those buses handle the incline on 495.

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13 hours ago, trainfan22 said:

Rode the 107X today, felt weird riding an transit bus on an extended highway run. Most MTA or NJT routes I ride with long highway runs usually use OTR coaches. Bus wasn't nerfed ethier, it was able to keep up with highway traffic.

That's why I like riding the #73x, #78, and the #79... The #78's highway stretch IMO is underrated.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

Changing subjects I the other day was analysing the area of Plainsboro,NJ and to say the truth nearly two years ago the fixed route M6 of the Middlesex County Area Transit (MCAT) was scrapped leaving ONLY the NJT #600 in covering that area.

I was thinking why eliminate the M6 I mean I can understand the truncation of the route from Princeton junction to University of Plainsboro since the M6 was coexistence with NJT #600 between Plainsboro and Princeton Junction Station but having it eliminated left the communities of Cranbury and Jamesburg.

But looking at Google maps I saw that the Scotts Corner road of Plainsboro (where NJT #600 passes through hourly til 7pm) is very close to the area where the M1 deviates to head to Veterans Park of Jamesburg at Route 130...i was thinking since they eliminated the M6 bus route and it passes bihourly why not split the heavily used M1 into two routes have the 1st route make the New Brunswick-Veterans Park run and a 2nd route New Brunswick-Plainsboro (Scotts Corner road) thus each route passing every 2 hours as in the NB-VP 7am,9am,11am,1pm,3pm,5pm...and the NB-SC 8am,10am,12pm,2pm,4pm,6pm

I mean we should fix this huge gap betweem NB and Plainsboro and NO let's exclude NJT Rail since im talking for a bargain trip and not a expensive trip I mean MCAT is a $1 that would mean that SHOULD M1 terminate (bihourly) at Plainsboro/Scotts Corner then your trip from New Brunswick to Trenton would be a solid $3.75 very cheap...i mean I doubt MCAT would revive the M6 and much less extend NJT #600 towards Jamesburg Veterans Park to cover the eliminated M6 bus route since Plainsboro Cranbury and Jamestown are all in Middlesex County thus out of jurisdiction for the Mercer county bus line so I hugely doubt NJ Transit would consider extending #600 to Jamesburg

So I thought how about have the MCAT M1 split into two routes and cover each segment south of the Route 130 deviant every 2 hours and North of the deviant hourly since both segments would merge...should the M1 Scotts Corner segment be implemented it will fill the eliminated M6 bus route and THUS a connection between NJT and MCAT and also a link between the NJT Mercer county lines and NJT Middlesex County lines (obviously northern Middlesex since southern Middlesex is W/O a bus line only by NJT #600 bus route but since Plainsboro is border town with Mercer county it is saved to be without a fixed route)

So i ask you guys what you think of this proposal I think it would be a good idea...BUT there's a but I may assume that this N1 route will not serve Cranbury and only head down deviate Dey road towards Scotts Corner rd for the connection with #600. Since the M1 bus has to have the 1 hour headway that is it should arrive Scotts Corner at 7:55am and head back to New Brunswick at 8:55am leaving Scotts Corner at 8am if the route upcoming intersection of Dey road and Rte 130 is very early as in like 7:35 or 7:40am then may be just may be it could pass by Cranbury but still manage to arrive at Scotts Corner at 755am (and so on each trip afterwards) 

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  • 4 weeks later...

  

Market Street garage will be renovated:

 

https://www.nj.com/news/2021/03/120-year-old-nj-transit-bus-garage-to-get-a-makeover-and-addition.html

 

Quote

 

120-year-old NJ Transit bus garage to get a makeover and addition
Updated Mar 24, 7:39 PM; Posted Mar 24, 7:39 PM

By Larry Higgs | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com


NJ Transit bus riders and worker will get a bigger, renovated garage by late 2023 under a $27 million project that is now underway.

Renovations and an expansion of the nearly 120-year-old brick Market Street garage in Paterson -- which once housed trolley cars and now serves as a major service hub for the agency’s Northern Division -- are starting, agency officials said on Wednesday.

“The renovated facility will have a new public entrance, with access to a dedicated ticketing and information office for customers,” said Jim Smith, an NJ Transit spokesman.

The addition is needed to serve the number of riders using buses operating out of the facility -- a number that’s predicted to significantly increase in the coming years, officials said. The garage houses 150 NJ Transit buses that make nearly 1,800 trips weekly. Those routes had a pre-COVID-19 ridership of 9.9 million annual passenger trips, officials said.

“Current ridership warrants upgrades to this facility, so it can continue to operate efficiently,” Smith said. “As this facility is over 100 years old, the project will bring the facility up to modern standards and a state of good repair.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, ridership on NJ Transit local in-state bus routes has been between 50 and 60% of pre-coronavirus ridership, higher than other public transportation types in the state like commuter trains and buses into Manhattan. Rider surveys showed that essential workers have relied on local bus service throughout the pandemic.

To accommodate the anticipated increase, a 3,200-square-foot addition will be built, in addition to major renovations to the existing building. That work includes a new slab floor in the main area of the facility, installing an elevator, various mechanical, electrical and plumbing upgrades, upgrades to safety systems, and repairs to the building’s brickwork façade.

The addition will provide two more maintenance bays for the garage, which will allow quicker and easier servicing of existing and future technology buses, Smith said.

The renovations will also get the facility up to standards so that it can accept zero emission vehicle charging in future, he said. NJ Transit is engaged in a pilot program to test electric buses in Camden.

“Our Market Street garage is older than the New York City subway system, and this rehabilitation will allow us to better maintain buses and serve our customers,” said Kevin Corbett, NJ Transit President and CEO in a statement.

Total cost for the renovation and expansion is estimated at approximately $27.3 million, which is funded by the state Transportation Trust Fund and the Federal Transit Administration. The project has an estimated late 2023 completion date. Construction could start in the coming weeks, Smith said.

That bus garage replacement plan is part of NJ Transit’s five-year capital plan introduced last year by Gov. Phil Murphy. It identified modernizing NJ Transit bus garages among the investments needed to have reliable, efficient service. The agency has 16 bus garages, which house and maintain its 2,300-plus bus fleet.

“This project represents one component of our larger Bus Garage Replacement Program, which, when fully funded, will enable us to store larger buses to accommodate future ridership growth, improve reliability and accelerate our transition to a 100% zero-emission bus fleet,” Corbett said.

The main contract for the Paterson bus garage work was awarded by NJ Transit’s board last year to DMR Construction Services of Waldwick, for $18.3 million, plus 10% for contingencies. It was the lowest of the five bids submitted. The Board also awarded a $2.8 million contract, plus a 5% contingency fund, for construction management services to AEOCM Tishman.

In honor of the facility’s historic legacy and ongoing role in the region’s transportation network, various artwork will be installed, including:

  • A mural by Tim Gaydos on the exterior garage façade/barn wall
  • Works by Alastair R. Noble and Kathy Bruce on the stair risers and exterior fence railing
  • A ceramic mural at the interior elevator area by Katherine Hackl
  • Mosaic flooring by Anne Oshman
  • Two paintings by Maria Mijares in the ticket office area

 

Edited by GojiMet86
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  • 3 weeks later...

- Last Saturday (4-10-21): Bus signed up as an #810 at Woodbridge Center Mall did the #815 to New Brunswick. This was a bus I ended up taking.

- Yesterday (4-17-21): Bus signed up as a #107 has a paper with 28 on the front window..... I wasn't on this bus, but I thought I was losing it when I was on the Nwk-Penn bound #72 yesterday along Bloomfield av., seeing a bus going in the opposite direction with #107 signage :lol:

=================================

Last week's occurrence, there's no excuse for... I didn't care as much, because I ended up 'fanning both routes regardless (#810 & #815); although I wanted to do the #810 first.... The other passenger on the bus that boarded at the mall with me, was livid - and rightfully so..... I did find it strange that the b/o didn't say anything when I only dropped $2.55 (2 zone fare) in the farebox after having explicitly told him I was going to New Brunswick after he asked where I was going..... For those that don't know, the full #815 from Woodbridge Ctr. Mall to New Brunswick is a 4 zone route - that's that $3.80.... It is the #810 that's the 2 zone route b/w Woodbridge Ctr. Mall & New Brunswick.... So NJT lost $1.25 due to that b/o's incompetence 🤦🏽‍♂️

Yesterday's occurrence OTOH, IDRK what to make of.... Why would you run a bus, in service, with broken/malfunctioned signage like that? Then again, if the bus is perfectly operable otherwise, why not, right 🤷🏽‍♂️...... Me, hell, I'd have had that bus only doing the #107 :lol:

=======================

Speaking of malfunctions, on the same #72 I was on in question, I boarded at Broadway Bus terminal (Paterson).... The b/o just waved us on & told us that she would tell us when it was "okay to pay" (her words).... I'm like, tf? Everybody else basically had that same reaction of befuddlement upon boarding, so it wasn't just me..... The very next stop (which is Main/Market), a few people got on, with some having paid cash.... Guess the farebox started miraculously working at that point... lol.... Long story short, we got as far as the hospital (about a mile or so past the terminal) before she (the b/o) yelled towards the back of the bus to tell me & this other dude that "you can come pay now" (again, her words).... Luckily, I didn't lose my seat due to that, because the bus was pretty packed..... I could've been anal about it & not paid, but I'm not in this hobby, or whatever you want to call it, to stiff these transit agencies by not paying.... In all my years of embarking buses, I've not once have that happened to me.... Case you're wondering, the other guy never got up to pay.... He ended up getting off at that Stop & Shop at Allwood (I think that is)....

Makes me question was that farebox really malfunctioned or was that b/o some probie that didn't really know what she was doing.... The veteran b/o's would've just waved us on & would've been like f**k it - when the farebox starts working again, that's when passengers boarding after that point will start paying.... But to summon the ones that you freely let on prior, to pay afterwards? That has newbie or probie written all over it to me... One thing to note was that she was sitting along Broadway, just west of the terminal, for about a good 10 minutes or so, before deciding to pull up to the terminal itself..... Now that I look at the schedule, she left late - We left at 2:32, but the trip is scheduled for 2:25? Oy vey.....

As an aside, the last couple #72's I've rode from Paterson have been pulling up to the terminal from the Broadway side, as opposed to leaving from Lane 2 inside the terminal, but whatever.....

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Some ops just don’t care about the fares anymore. Why should we if the company still writes us up for enforcing the fare. Whenever I do exact fare(which is rare) but when I do I don’t care what is put in the box. I just hit issue, idc what zone we in and if it don’t accept it I just hit the A key. I’m over the bs with njt.

Edited by 553 Bridgeton
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On 4/18/2021 at 1:36 PM, B35 via Church said:

 

As an aside, the last couple #72's I've rode from Paterson have been pulling up to the terminal from the Broadway side, as opposed to leaving from Lane 2 inside the terminal, but whatever.....

You have no idea how much that ticks me off.  I’m ready to leave on the 161 and those NABI drivers pull right up and impede my progress.  I give them a few seconds just to see if they are aware of what they are doing (Lord forgive them for they know what they do 🙏🏼) before I let them have it with the (miserable excuse of a) horn....

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On 4/16/2021 at 8:33 PM, R10 2952 said:

Last I heard the 748 trips to/from Pompton Lakes have been reduced to 2-3 peak direction trips, weekdays only.  Who in hell do they expect to serve with that kind of shitty frequency?

I remember driving those 748 trips for Community from Paterson to Pompton Lakes many moons ago when they had the 30ft RTS buses which were apropo for the ridership they had

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10 hours ago, 46Dover said:

You have no idea how much that ticks me off.  I’m ready to leave on the 161 and those NABI drivers pull right up and impede my progress.  I give them a few seconds just to see if they are aware of what they are doing (Lord forgive them for they know what they do 🙏🏼) before I let them have it with the (miserable excuse of a) horn....

I'm playing the lottery.

This is exactly what happened! Same route too (the #72 I ended up boarding, was blocking the #161).... Was about 2 or 3 whole minutes after everybody got on, that she finally decided to pull off... Pretty sure shorty (the #161 op'... bad looking chick too) was heated; could tell by the way she was honking the horn... I started getting agitated also TBH.... Looked like she (the #72 op' I had) was holding up 2 of the jitneys also.... I'm obviously not up in Paterson with any regularity, but it seems like it's only the #72 that pulls up in that area (outside of the terminal, along Broadway) in question.... All the other local routes IMEs' pull out of their respective lanes inside the terminal.....

side note: Hell, after waiting almost 1/2 hour for the ****ing PATH, I probably should've taken that 161.

Edited by B35 via Church
IME = in my experience{s}
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47 minutes ago, Lawrence St said:

Also when did the 126 become an articulated route?

Hasn't happened yet; the thing is still primarily 40 footers.

If you're asking when they started running artics on the thing, then that's a different question.... They started doing so on the #126 around this same time of year, last year (some co-incidence).... Said artics were paid for by federal funding towards the end of 2019 IINM.....

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On 4/23/2021 at 5:53 PM, Lawrence St said:

Also when did the 126 become an articulated route?

Everyone has their hands on the 126 (although I have yet to see it in action from Wayne), some units from Hilton will definitely pitch in.  Meadowlands garage started getting them too hence the higher number of artics ordered than the last Neoplan order

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  • 4 weeks later...

I am a South Jersey native here...but I have noticed in a lot of photos that some buses in North Jersey still operate without bike racks.  I know when the NABIs were introduced in 2008 and 2009, that seemed to have changed and NJT put bike racks on most of them even in North Jersey, but I have noticed some of them have been removed.  Why is that so?  

Back in the day ( 1990s), the bike racks were on Flexible buses in Camden, Trenton and Atlantic City areas and same with the 30 and 40 foot Novas when they ran.  I guess it is something I have noticed and I am curious as to why. 

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