New Express Bus Route Recommended For Princeton With 12-Month Pilot Program

PRINCETON, NJ — Princeton is considering launching a new express bus route to improve connectivity between key locations, with a proposed 12-month pilot program estimated to cost around $400,000.

Matt Thomas and George Piper of TELOS Advisors, a New Jersey-based strategic advisory firm focusing on infrastructure and transportation, presented the feasibility study to the Princeton council during the last council meeting.

The proposed express route would complement, not replace, the existing local bus service, which serves affordable housing, senior housing, and other community locations.

The new route would provide faster service with fewer stops, connecting the Princeton Dinky station, downtown Nassau Street corridor, and the Princeton Shopping Center area.

"The main takeaways from that work was, if there's a strong desire for more connectivity, more transit routes between these locations," Thomas said, referencing previous community input collected by the municipality and Nelson Nygaard.

The express route would operate Monday through Saturday, running from approximately 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on roughly 45-minute frequencies. All proposed stops would be at existing bus stop locations currently used by either Tiger Transit or NJ Transit, ensuring buses can safely load and offload passengers without causing additional traffic congestion.

The stops provide comprehensive coverage, with each location representing about a quarter-mile walking radius—the typical distance someone is willing or able to walk to catch a bus. The only area without this coverage level is the university campus itself, which is already served by Tiger Transit.

Thomas recommended a 12-month pilot to collect sufficient data on usage patterns and account for seasonal variations in a university town. The evaluation would examine key factors including ridership numbers, cost per ride, user demographics, and feedback from passengers.

A formal assessment would occur in October to determine whether to continue the service.

“We think the cost would be of a ballpark of a $400,000 for one year, based on prior bids for similar proposals, existing contracts, general inflation. And then we would suggest evaluating this on an ongoing basis, doing pulse checks, checking ridership, looking at dashboards, but really doing a formal, sort of assessment of how the pilot has progressed in October,” Thomas said.

Funding for the pilot would come from non-taxpayer sources already available to the municipality, including university voluntary payments, developer agreements, and parking revenues.

Princeton currently has approximately $1.1 million from these sources on hand, with another $1.2 million committed.

"Any sort of extension or expansion would be contingent on pilot success and a funding source not derived from taxpayer fees," Thomas said.

Implementation would include measures to boost reliability on existing routes, such as contract provisions with penalties for early departures—a key concern identified in community feedback.

The project would also involve rebranding efforts to make transit offerings more recognizable and user-friendly, updated signage and documentation, and potentially digital displays at stops.

Council members raised questions about data collection metrics, GPS transponders for real-time tracking through apps like TripShot, and funding tied to electric vehicle purchases through RGGI (Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative) grants.

The municipality is still considering whether to procure electric or gas-powered vehicles for the service, with delivery times for potential electric buses expected around mid-2026. The decision may depend on vendor availability and whether it makes sense to deploy electric vehicles.

Thomas said that the express route would provide comprehensive service when combined with the existing local route, creating a more robust transit system for Princeton.

You can see the presentation here:

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