FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 4, 2023

Contact: Press Office
973-491-7078

 

NJ TRANSIT TO IMPLEMENT EMERGENCY BUS SERVICE TO PROVIDE ALTERNATIVES FOR DECAMP CUSTOMERS

Rescue Plan Mitigates Impacts for Overwhelming Majority of Weekday DeCamp Customers Through Extended Bus Routes, Augmenting Existing NJ TRANSIT Bus, Rail and Light Rail Service and Local Municipal Shuttles

NEWARK, NJ – NJ TRANSIT has announced an emergency bus service plan to provide as many alternate transit options for weekday DeCamp bus customers as possible.  The plan includes extending four existing NJ TRANSIT bus routes that will accommodate approximately 85% of current weekday DeCamp customers. The remaining customers will largely be accommodated by leveraging existing bus, rail and light rail service, as well as local municipal bus shuttles in West Orange and Bloomfield. NJ TRANSIT is also launching a comprehensive informational campaign to assist DeCamp customers in identifying their available alternatives.

“It is critical that NJ TRANSIT provide safe and reliable transportation options for those who depend on it every day,” said New Jersey Department of Transportation Commissioner and NJ TRANSIT Board Chair Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti.  “I am grateful to the staff at NJ TRANSIT for their tireless efforts to assemble this emergency plan to ensure these customers have as many options as possible.”

“NJ TRANSIT is pleased to be able to maximize the number of alternatives for the overwhelming majority of DeCamp’s customers,” said NJ TRANSIT President & CEO Kevin S. Corbett. “I’m proud of our bus operations team for quickly developing this comprehensive emergency service plan in time for implementation on Monday, April 10th.”

On March 20^th, DeCamp announced that it would end commuter service as of April 8^th.  Since then, NJ TRANSIT has been working to identify what measures could quickly be taken to maximize alternatives for displaced DeCamp customers. Four NJ TRANSIT bus routes – the 191, 192, 195 and 199 –  were identified for modifications to create new variants to serve the DeCamp territory to the greatest extent possible utilizing existing resources. It is important to note that this emergency service plan will only include weekday peak periods for the four modified bus routes and will not duplicate the current DeCamp routes in their entirety, though the variants will mirror many portions of the current routes.  During weekends and off-peak weekdays, customers are advised to utilize existing NJ TRANSIT services.  NJ TRANSIT will continually monitor ridership demand, and will be able to make adjustments in June if warranted and as resources allow.

The four NJ TRANSIT bus routes that have been modified will be denoted with a “D” next to the route number.

These bus routes will all depart from Gate 208 in the Port Authority Bus Terminal. (The door numbers are indicated below). The routes are as follows:

191D – Provides alternate service for DeCamp’s Route 66 customers in West Orange and Montclair.

• Morning Peak: First trip departs Mississippi Loop at 5:55 a.m.; Last trip departs Mississippi Loop at 8:25 a.m..
• Afternoon/Evening Peak to Mississippi Loop: First trip departs PABT at 4:15 p.m.; Last trip departs PABT at 7:45 p.m.. Trips will depart from Door 2.

192D – Provides alternate service for DeCamp’s Route 33 customers in Bloomfield

• Morning Peak: First trip departs Broad & Liberty Street at 5:50 a.m.; Last trip departs Broad & Liberty Street at 8:50 a.m.
• Afternoon/Evening Peak to Broad & Liberty St.: First trip departs PABT at 4:15 p.m.; Last trip departs PABT at 8:00 p.m.. Trips will depart from Door 1.

195D – Provides alternate service for DeCamp’s Route 33 customers in West Caldwell, Caldwell and Verona.

• Morning Peak: First trip departs Kirkpatrick Lane in West Caldwell at 5:25 a.m.; Last trip departs Kirkpatrick Lane in West Caldwell at 8:25 a.m.
• Afternoon/Evening Peak to Kirkpatrick Lane: First trip departs PABT at 4:30 p.m.; Last trip departs PABT at 7:30 p.m. Trips will depart from Door 3.

199D – Provides alternate service for DeCamp’s Route 44 customers in Newark, Belleville, North Arlington & Lyndhurst.

• Morning Peak: First trip departs Heller Parkway & Mt. Prospect Avenue at 5:38 a.m.; Last trip departs Heller Parkway & Mt. Prospect Avenue at 8:38 a.m.
• Afternoon/Evening Peak to Heller Parkway & Mt. Prospect Avenue: First trip departs PABT at 4:30 p.m.; Last trip departs PABT at 8:00 p.m. Trips will depart from Door 4.

Fare information:

In addition to robust, existing NJ TRANSIT bus, rail and light rail in this area that DeCamp customers can use as alternatives, customers can avail themselves of the following municipal shuttles operated by Bloomfield and West Orange. These shuttles provide service to nearby

NJ TRANSIT rail stations:

Bloomfield Shuttle:

https://www.bloomfieldtwpnj.com/332/Bloomfield-Shuttle - This Bloomfield Shuttle Bus is designed to pick up resident commuters along a fixed route and transport them to the Bloomfield Station located on Lackawanna Place. The Bloomfield Station is a stop on NJ TRANSIT’s Montclair-Boonton Line, which enables commuters a direct trip to many destinations such as Hoboken and New York.

West Orange Jitney:

https://www.westorange.org/1415/LocalJitney-Shuttle - West Orange provides free Jitney service to 3 different NJ TRANSIT train stations. The NJ TRANSIT Midtown-Direct train line is only minutes away, bringing riders straight to New York’s Penn Station. The town provides free jitney service to Orange, South Orange, and Brick Church stations.

Nearby NJ TRANSIT services

Bus routes/Park and Rides:

• Allwood Park and Ride
• Clifton Commons Park and Ride
• Willowbrook Park and Ride
• Wayne Transit Center
• NJT Bus Nos. 11, 28, 29 and go28 to Newark Light Rail and Broad St. Station
• NJT Bus Nos.13 and 27 to Broad St. Station
• NJT Bus Nos. 40 and 76 to Newark Penn Station and PATH
• NJT Bus Nos. 21, 71, 73 and 79 to Newark Penn Station and PATH
• NJT Bus No. 72 to Newark Penn Station and PATH
• NJT Bus No. 191 line via Montclair Heights/MSU
• NJT Bus No. 709 to Bloomfield Station

Rail:

The Montclair-Boonton Line offers service at the following stations in this area:

• Wayne Route 23
• Little Falls
• Montclair State University
• Montclair Heights
• Mountain Ave.
• Upper Montclair
• Watchung Ave.
• Walnut Street
• Bay Street
• Glen Ridge
• Bloomfield
• Watsessing
• Newark Broad St.

The Main Line offers service at the following stations in this area:

• Paterson
• Clifton
• Passaic
• Delawanna
• Lyndhurst
• Kingsland
• Secaucus Junction

The Bergen County Line offers service at the following stations in this area:

• Radburn (Fair Lawn)
• Broadway (Fair Lawn)
• Plauderville
• Garfield
• Wesmont
• Rutherford
• Secaucus Junction

Light Rail:

The Newark Light Rail offers service at the following stations in this area:

• Grove St.
• Silver Lake
• Branch Brook Park
• Davenport Ave.
• Bloomfield Ave.
• Park Ave.

PATH Service is also available at Newark Penn Station and Harrison, which is accessible by using connecting rail service at Broad St. in Newark, and various connecting bus routes.

NJ TRANSIT has also created a web page at njtransit.com/decamp to provide customers with a one-stop destination for all information on the emergency service plan, including: all of the available travel options for current DeCamp customers, town-provided shuttle and jitney services, fares, schedules and more.  In addition, NJ TRANSIT will have customer service ambassadors at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York beginning Tuesday, April 4^th informing DeCamp customers of these new options and assisting them with planning their travels and locating the new departure gates.

Customers are also encouraged to use the “Plan Your Trip” feature found on the home page of www.njtransit.com for all available alternatives from your specific address.

About NJ TRANSIT

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.

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