NJ Transit officials added hundreds of new bus trips to increase capacity and reduce crowding on certain growing routes when summer schedules took effect late last month, but riders in some places questioned why they lost service.
Bus system changes that took place on June 24 added 346 weekday trips and additional stops. The changes are meant to improve running times, on-time performance and to serve new employers, said Michael Kilcoyne, NJ Transit senior vice president of surface transportation and bus operations.
The schedule change also included adding seasonal summer service to Six Flags Great Adventure and to Jersey Shore destinations.
But commuters using bus routes in Freehold questioned why they’ve lost some service in the schedule change.
“We added 157 trips on 30 routes to provide added capacity and reduce crowding,” Kilcoyne told an NJ Transit board committee meeting on June 29. “We made adjustments on 29 routes in running times and frequency to improve reliability, on-time performance and for better transfer connections.”
Among those are routes that have seen significant ridership increases.
On the #1 route in Newark, 20 weekday trips were added, where ridership had grown beyond pre-COVID levels, Kilcoyne said. That route has 3.53 million riders in 2022, which NJ Transit projects to increase to 3.94 million in 2023.
The agency added 29 weekday trips on the #10 bus route between Bayonne and Jersey City as weekday ridership increased 52% since NJ Transit took over that service last year from a contractor, Kilcoyne said. Ridership is predicted to top 1.3 million on that route this year.
Officials also added 46 weekday and Saturday trips on the #25 bus route which operates along Springfield Avenue in Irvington and Newark to add capacity with an emphasis on the heaviest travel times of day, Kilcoyne said. That route had 2.63 million riders last year, NJ Transit statistics said.
NJ Transit also extended #25 service to a new bus stop in the area of Doremus and Roanoke Avenues to serve a growing number of warehouses in the area including Federal Express and at Avenue P and Wilson Avenue, Kilcoyne said.
A 49% increase in weekday ridership resulted in adding 15 trips to the #119 bus route between Bayonne, Jersey City and New York. NJ Transit took that service over in June 2022 from a contractor. Annual ridership on that route is projected to reach 1.766 million riders in 2023.
Other changes to the 119 are a “much-needed adjustment” on certain inbound trips to New York to allow express buses to bypass Journal Square to save time and reduce congestion in the terminal, Kilcoyne said.
Trips also were added to the expanded 192D route that was one of the former Decamp Bus Service routes that NJ Transit modified to accommodate commuters.
But with additions also come subtractions on other routes.
Commuters using bus routes in Freehold Center complained that the new schedule cut some of their service both on local routes and commuter service. Others had route changes or changes to service frequency. Freehold is the Monmouth County seat.
Routes 64J, 130, 131, and 132 stopped operating via Freehold Center on June 24. Some of those buses averaged 3 people per trip, said Jim Smith, an NJ Transit spokesman.
Smith cited several issues for the changes including low ridership on some buses and adjusting service levels to Freehold Center to better align with existing ridership.
“Freehold Center customers still have numerous alternatives to and from that area with 70% of the overall service level remaining intact,” he said. “138 out of 196 revenue trips remain… on weekdays providing numerous options for customers.”
The ridership figures were questions by one commuter who said every Route 9 bus traveling via Freehold Center is serving six other stops on the way in and out of town.
Under the new schedule for the 130, 132, 136 and 139 buses, peak hour service to Freehold Center goes from a (roughly) 30-minute gap, to a 40-60 minute gaps from 5:28 pm through the peak commuting period, based on a comparison of the two schedules.
Smith said that was done to reallocate redundant service to better match ridership demand.
Freehold Center’s bus stop also has physical constraints, being located on a narrow road with “several operational constraints including fencing that abuts the property, Smith said. That affects the ability of traffic to pass on either side and impedes riders boarding and getting off buses, he said.
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Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com.
Prosecutors last week entered piles of cash and 13 gold bars into evidence in the federal corruption trial of Sen. Robert Menendez, who is accused along with his wife Nadine of accepting bribes from a trio of New Jersey businessmen. Canva for NJ.com
The FBI agents stepped quietly inside U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez’s modest white house tucked in an upscale neighborhood along New Jersey’s scenic Palisades one morning in June 2022, creeping in through the garage.
They were directed to move discreetly, none of the shock and awe of a pre-dawn raid and perp walk. Nobody was even home.
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S.P. Sullivan
Sean Sullivan is a senior reporter on NJ Advance Media’s news team, covering criminal justice issues and government corruption in New Jersey for over a decade. He is chronicling the federal trial of U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez for NJ.com and its affiliated newspapers. He does not invest in gold.
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HADDONFIELD, N.J. (CBS) — A man from Haddon Township was arrested and charged Friday in connection with an arson incident in South Jersey last October and other incidents of criminal mischief, harassment and stalking in Haddonfield and Medford Township.
The Camden County prosecutor, Haddonfield police chief and Medford Township police chief announced the arrest on Saturday.
Haddonfield police said Michael McNeely, 42, was charged with second-degree aggravated arson and third-degree criminal mischief in connection with an arson in October 2023 where a car was intentionally set on fire. McNeely was also charged with fourth-degree criminal mischief for a June 2019 incident. Both incidents happened in Haddonfield.
McNeely was additionally charged with fourth-degree criminal mischief and harassment for an incident on Nov. 9, 2023, in Medford Township where police said a bench was vandalized with spray paint on High Point Drive. The 42-year-old was also charged with fourth-degree stalking on multiple occasions from 2019 to 2023 in Haddonfield and Medford Township, according to the news release.
McNeely is in custody at the Camden County Correctional Facility pending a court date.
The news release said Haddonfield officers responded to a report of a car on fire on the 1000 block of Concord Circle on Oct. 21 and surveillance video showed a suspect pouring gasoline onto the car and lighting it on fire.
Authorities said officers previously responded to two car fires at the same home on Concord Circle on June 25, 2021, and Oct. 18, 2017. Investigators also mentioned they responded to the same house after a concrete block was thrown through a window on June 20, 2019. The two car fires at the residence are still under investigation.
Detectives said they identified McNeely as a suspect through digital evidence.
“I’m very proud of and grateful to our detective bureau, and for the collaboration between our detectives, CCPO, and the Medford Twp PD that helped bring this case to a positive resolution,” Haddonfield Police Chief Jason Cutler said in the release.
Authorities urge anyone with information to call Detective Jason Roland of the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit at 856-225-5125, Detective Corporal Kristin O’Neill of the Haddonfield Police Department at 856-429-3000 or Detective Mark Hunsinger of the Medford Township Police Department at 609-654-7511.
Tips can also be sent anonymously through CAMDEN.TIPS.
When Ben Chrnelich was thinking about what he wanted Real Central New Jersey’s outfit in the Women’s Premier Soccer League to look like this is it.
A strong team capable of winning a division title that is bolstered largely by local players from the soccer-tradition rich Greater Trenton area.
“Our mission is to continue providing a professionally run soccer organization program to the highest caliber and most committed players in the area,” said Chrnelich, who serves as Sporting Director for the women’s team. “We enjoy seeing players who have competed against each other in high school and academy leagues join together at RCNJ to represent our area.”
Season number four for RCNJ gets underway on Sunday night when it hosts West Mont United at 7 p.m. on the turf at Rider University’s Ben Cohen Field.
RCNJ will compete in the Colonial Division of the Mid-Atlantic Conference alongside Delaware Ospreys, Fever SC, Penn Fusion, Philadelphia Ukrainian Nationals, SJEB FC and West Mont United.
SJEB and Penn Fusion are both ranked in the preseason top-25.
The 10-game schedule begins on Sunday and runs through June 30, with playoffs to follow as teams compete for the Jerry Zanelli Cup. Rosters consist of collegiate, post-collegiate, international, and standout prep athletes.
“The club has experienced significant growth in the programs offered, fan interest and community support,” Chrnelich said, pointing to increased attendance since moving from Mercer CC to Rider University for home games last season.
“In additional to the Women’s team being consistently a top ranked WPSL team, the club has seen notable success with its youth teams (U13, U15 & U18) competing at the USL Academy Cup. Our attendance has grown every year with the WPSL games seeing over 250 supporters in attendance, plus many more watching the live stream. Our focus on a player centric environment continues to attract top players to our program and recommendations from collegiate coaches to play and train with Real Central NJ in preparation for the fall college season.”
The roster is highlighted by familiar names.
It includes former CVC Player of the Year Sophia Lis (Lehigh University/ Princeton High) and this fall’s Prep and Area Co-Player of the Year Morgan Kotch (Villanova University/ Pennington School).
Some other notable players include captains Ava Curtis (TCNJ/ Hillsborough High) and Stella Kahn (La Salle University/ Eastern Regional High), Brooke Steel (American University/ Shawnee High), Riley Hayes (Bucknell University/ Hun School), Kirsten Ruf (Rice University/ Princeton Day) and Nicola Mosionek (Rider University/ Hopewell Valley) among others.
Brian Thomson returns as head coach for his fourth season, and he’ll be assisted by Jamie Skarupsky, a former goalkeeper for the team, and Allentown High head coach Kim Maurer.
“Trenton’s soccer roots are deep and we are proud to play our part in continuing to ensure players can stay local while competing against the best talent up and down the East Coast,” Chrnelich said.
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