New Jersey Transit will reassign underutilized buses to accommodate increasing ridership on its No. 119 route. The reassignment will start June 24 and NJ Transit says it's part of its continuing commitment to improve the customer experience and match service with demand.
“This adjustment is another way we are listening to customers’ input and improving the customer experience using existing resources,” said NJ Transit President & CEO Kevin Corbett. “”We hope that by maximizing our resources, we will provide some much needed relief for customers headed to and from Manhattan and alleviate overcrowded buses.”
“Hudson County is growing; particularly the Jersey City Heights and Union City areas, and we have to pursue creative ways to accommodate our citizens’ need for public transportation,” said Union City Mayor and District 33 Senator Brian P. Stack. “Hudson County Freeholder Joel Torres and I will continue to work tirelessly with NJ Transit to overcome logistical challenges and to continue to avail more resources for our residents.”
“This bus route, like others, has not kept up with demand, and we are bracing for even greater strains on service as thousands of residential units under construction become occupied in the coming months and years,” said District 33 State Assemblyman and Majority Whip Raj Mukherji. “I am grateful to CEO Kevin Corbett for coming to Hudson County and hearing our constituents’ concerns firsthand, and more importantly, for acting on it and taking meaningful steps to improve mass transit in our region. Senator Stack and I look forward to working with NJ Transit to channel more resources to urban mass transit as we all continue to address the community’s needs.”
Over the past several months, NJ Transit has been working with contractor Academy to find solutions to crowding issues on the No. 119 route. By realigning Academy’s contract for Hudson County bus service, the improvements to the No. 119 can be made using existing buses and bus operators.
The result is an additional 12 trips a day on the No. 119 route which operates from Bayonne through the Jersey City Heights neighborhood and to the Port Authority Bus Terminal (PABT). An additional seven trips will operate in the morning and five additional trips will depart the PABT in the evening.
In mid-May, NJ Transit senior management met with residents of the Jersey City Heights neighborhood at a community meeting to address the issues along the busy No. 119 route.
NJ Transit continually monitors ridership trends and makes adjustments to maximize the deployment of resources and available slots in and out of the PABT. Over the past several years, similar adjustments have been made to buses in Bergen County to maximize capacity on those routes.
