Funding Will Help to Reimagine the Local Bus Network in Hudson County
NJ TRANSIT is the recipient of a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for a study to examine the current bus network in Hudson County and surrounding areas. NJ TRANSIT was one of 50 transit agencies from 24 states selected to share $25 million to help reassess, redesign and improve service that has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, NJ TRANSIT is conducting similar studies called NewBus Newark and NewBus Burlington-Camden-Gloucester to redesign the local bus networks in those regions.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly challenging for transit agencies across the country and NJ TRANSIT is no exception,” said New Jersey Department of Transportation Commissioner and NJ TRANSIT Board Chair Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti. “These federal funds will ensure that bus riders in Hudson County have optimal access to public transportation.”
“Building on the positive progress of our NewBus Newark and NewBus Burlington-Camden-Gloucester projects, NJ TRANSIT is pleased to continue the holistic reimagining of our entire bus network through yet another bus network redesign project, now in Hudson County and the surrounding area,” said NJ TRANSIT President & CEO Kevin S. Corbett. “We are grateful to the FTA for helping us launch this new project, which will enable us to provide equitable, sufficient and reliable Hudson County bus service that meets not only today’s travel needs and patterns, but tomorrow’s as well.”
NJ TRANSIT’s $514,045 grant is provided through the FTA’s Route Planning Restoration Program to help transit agencies with planning projects. Similar to the NewBus Newark and NewBus BCG studies, NewBus Hudson will improve service and accessibility to jobs, education, recreation, and other opportunities, and help NJ TRANSIT adapt the bus network to meet communities’ changing mobility needs.
The Hudson bus network redesign will restructure the regional bus system to make the network more attractive and equitable to current and future customers. The NewBus Hudson initiative will include a detailed performance analysis of how well the existing system meets the needs of customers, as well as a robust outreach effort that continuously engages the public and stakeholders throughout the study, and identifies new activity centers and emerging travel destinations with service recommendations that are implementable.
NJ TRANSIT is the nation’s largest statewide public transportation system providing more than 925,000 weekday trips on 253 bus routes, three light rail lines, 12 commuter rail lines and through Access Link paratransit service. It is the third largest transit system in the country with 166 rail stations, 62 light rail stations and more than 19,000 bus stops linking major points in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia.
