NJ Needs To Step Up For Bus Riders In COVID Pandemic, Report Says

NEWARK, NJ — Nurses. Teachers. Cops. Supermarket workers. There’s a good chance that the next essential employee New Jersey residents lean on during the coronavirus crisis will be taking a bus to their job. And it’s time to step up for the people who put their lives on the line while their neighbors isolate at home, a recent report says.

Last week, the nonprofit Regional Plan Association (RPA) released a study that takes a hard look at New Jersey’s bus system amid the COVID-19 crisis. Read it here.

The research supports what many social justice advocates have been claiming for years: buses are a crucial investment that the Garden State has ignored for far too long.

This decades-old need has become even more urgent thanks to the coronavirus, the report claims.

While NJ Transit bus and rail ridership between New Jersey and New York has nosedived compared to last year, local bus riders have been returning to the system in greater numbers. Many of them never stopped riding in the first place — about 75 percent of bus riders in New Jersey are essential workers, the RPA said.

When it comes to masks and personal protective equipment, the state's transportation agencies have made big strides.

NJ Transit has taken several steps to protect riders from the virus and restore passenger confidence, including making face masks mandatory onboard all buses and inside stations. Masks are also required at bus stops when social distancing isn’t possible.

Anyone using Port Authority facilities – including bus terminals, airports and PATH stations – must also wear a face covering. Travelers who don’t wear a mask or face covering can be fined.

• See related article: $50 Fine For No Masks At Port Authority Airports, PATH Stations

But according to the RPA, New Jersey is at a crucial crossroads, no pun intended, when it comes to its bus network. And unless a big influx of funds comes, there's a rocky road ahead that no amount of masks can fix.

NJ Transit, for example, is struggling to maintain pre-pandemic levels of service despite unprecedented revenue shortfalls, the RPA stated.

• See related article: Here's What NJ Transit May Soon Look Like, Gov. Murphy Says

The lack of cash began long before the pandemic, the RPA added:

“Fare increases in 2010 and 2015 increased passenger costs. Reductions in funding from the state budget to nearly zero between 2013 and 2016 made it necessary to divert money to transit operations from programs intended for other capital investment purposes. The result of these fiscal policies was a reduction in the resources available for investing in equipment, systems, and facilities and an increase in customer costs. Ramifications included increased crowding and reduced service reliability.”

The problem began to turn around a few years ago when new state policies were rolled out and officials began taking a serious look at the numbers. NJ Transit also recently unveiled its first 10-year strategic plan, as well as a five‑year capital plan to improve speed, safety and reliability for its passengers.

But a dearth of new revenue sources continues to sap the agency's capital budget in the name of filling gaps, the RPA stated.

Meanwhile, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which maintains the Port Authority Midtown Bus Terminal and the Journal Square Transportation Center, has been projecting massive financial woes due to the pandemic.

• See related article: Port Authority May Lose $3B From Virus; Big Projects In Jeopardy

Private bus companies have been feeling the financial pain, too.

As of Wednesday, DeCamp Bus Lines continues a coronavirus-related service suspension that began in August. Prior to the pandemic, the Montclair-based, family-owned company was making up to 200 trips per day between points in northern New Jersey and the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan.

• See related article: DeCamp Bus Suspension Continues In NJ Amid Coronavirus

INVESTING IN SOCIAL JUSTICE

Putting money into a stronger bus network isn’t only about creating a more efficient transit system for New Jersey’s workforce – it’s also about social justice, the RPA said.

In the Garden State, there’s a clear racial divide when it comes to who’s taking the bus, the study said. Car ownership plays a part in the disparity, including cities such as Newark, where in 2017, about 39 percent of Latinx and 41 percent of Black households didn’t have access to a personal vehicle, compared to only 26 percent of white households.

And for those who take the bus or train to work in the state’s largest city, the transportation gap costs a hefty price: time.

Commuters who start their trips within the city take an average of 23 minutes to get to work if they drive, and 38 minutes if they take public transportation. People starting their commutes outside of Newark face an even bigger gap, spending about 53 minutes to get to the job if they take the bus or train, but only 33 minutes if they drive themselves.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said that bus service is a major concern in the Brick City.

“Over a third of our residents don’t have access to a car and rely on the region's network of buses to reach jobs, education, housing and other essential services,” Baraka said.

The solution is clear, he charged. Newark needs faster, more frequent and more reliable bus service – and that will take money.

The idea of putting some big bucks into the bus system has also drawn support from advocates such as Sara Cullinane, director of Make the Road New Jersey.

“Immigrants and people of color are doing the frontline and essential work during the pandemic that keeps all of us safe,” Cullinane said. “Our safety, our families' safety, and our state's recovery depend on essential workers being able to get to work, home, and pick up kids without risking their health.”

• See related article: Coronavirus Hitting NJ Minority, Immigrant Communities Hard

THE ROAD TO REFORM

So what can be done to put New Jersey’s bus system on the road to reform?

In addition to securing $1.2 billion in federal funding beyond the initial CARES allotment for New Jersey, the RPA recommended using a greater share of New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA) toll revenues to support NJ Transit, and “comprehensively reimagining” northern New Jersey’s transportation network to give greater preference to public transit.

One way to do that would be opening more dedicated bus lanes. Currently, there are only eight miles of dedicated bus lanes in the entire state, 15 times less than the amount in New York City alone, the nonprofit said.

Another way would be to give buses priority at traffic signals and to create more bus lanes on congested roads, the group said.

And of course, adding more service to overcrowded bus routes is a no-brainer.

Doug O’Malley, director of Environment New Jersey, said that COVID-19 has been the ultimate stress test for the state’s transportation agencies.

“With the pandemic roaring back, this is going to be a dark winter for NJ Transit and straphangers,” O’Malley said.

RPA president and CEO Tom Wright offered a similar stormy prediction.

“The pandemic threatens to deal a crippling blow to New Jersey’s local bus system, which is disproportionately relied upon by essential workers, women, and people of color to get to work every day,” Wright said.

“It is critical that the state leverages every available dollar in service of our public transit system, and prioritizes policies that make buses faster, less crowded and more dependable,” Wright added.

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