More Shuttle Buses In Bloomfield As Amtrak Work Looms

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Bloomfield is beefing up its shuttle bus service in an effort to help local residents deal with a major weekday repair project at New York Penn Station.

Starting Monday, June 17 until Friday, Sept. 6, NJ Transit will begin temporarily diverting select Midtown Direct train service on the Montclair-Boonton line to Hoboken. (Learn more here)

Other temporary service adjustments will include:

• Morris & Essex Line Midtown Direct trains will no longer stop at Newark Broad Street station during the morning and evening peak periods
• A limited number of Midtown Direct reverse-peak trains will operate from Hoboken

What’s behind the changes? Vital Amtrak work that will take two tracks at Penn Station New York (PSNY) out of service, authorities say.

To help local residents cope with the changes to their commuting routines, the Bloomfield Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs is adjusting and expanding the town’s shuttle bus service, officials announced.

Nearly 100 Bloomfield residents use the town’s shuttle bus every day, officials said.

“While we know any service changes can cause temporary inconvenience to our sizable commuter population, we have been assured these track repairs will make the rail system more reliable moving forward, and we are very hopeful that the contractors on this important project will finish work ahead of time,” Mayor Michael Venezia said.

“I would like to commend the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department, which, under the leadership of Michael Sceurman, has proactively expanded service not only to the Bloomfield train station, but also to the Grove Street Light Rail to better accommodate our residents’ commutes,” Venezia said.

Officials said that – in direct response to commuter feedback – the township has added additional routes and location to the existing schedules.

Sceurman said that frequent shuttle bus riders have been contacted over the past few weeks via the township’s Swift Reach notification system and asked for feedback on how the construction would impact their commutes. The most common responses were that they will either continue their regular commute, or take a bus directly into the city, or take an earlier shuttle to the Light Rail at Grove Street to avoid the PATH train.

“Michael Sceurman and the hard-working employees who operate the Shuttle Bus have done a great job of expanding service in response to NJ Transit’s planned work,” Councilwoman Jenny Mundell said. “They are doing a great job of adding more early, and late shuttle busses to accommodate everyone who relies on our shuttle buses.”

For shuttle bus information, residents call (973) 566-7194, email recreation@bloomfieldtwpnj.com or visit the Civic Center at 84 Broad Street. Shuttle bus passes are $25 for 50 rides, and the North End Shuttle schedule at http://www.bloomfieldtwpnj.com/DocumentCenter/View/1628/North-End-Shuttle-Route-June-16-2019 and South End Shuttle schedule at http://www.bloomfieldtwpnj.com/DocumentCenter/View/1627/South-End-Shuttle-Route-June-16-2019.

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