Millburn Preps For Strike: Here's What NJ Transit Told Us About Bus Service

Millburn, NJ - Private buses are not the way to get into New York if a NJ Transit rail worker strike grinds local transportation to a halt on March 13, according to Millburn town officials.

• See related article: N.J. Transit Strike: 23-Mile Backups, 10K More Cars Per Hour, NJT Officials Say

Millburn officials posted the following advisory on the municipal website on Thursday:

“Just yesterday, after many days spent on exploring and vetting internal municipal planning and coordination options, NJ Transit issued a press release to all municipalities warning them not to hire private buses into New York City or to any other major transportation hubs. The press release stated clearly that only NJ Transit buses would be authorized to enter major transit locations, such as the Newark PATH station, due to concerns for severe congestion and public safety.”

Town officials continued:

“A number of residents have pointed out that other municipalities are providing bus service to locations that are remotely accessible to the major transit hubs, under the assumption that all or most residents would be afforded transportation. This is unequivocally not the case because it is not logistically possible. Of the towns that are providing such bus service, most have obtained 3 to 4 private buses which seat approximately 48 passengers. The seat numbers are reduced to accommodate a police officer that would ensure public safety and assist in coordinating with the New York City police for a location to pick up and drop off passengers. Other municipalities have previously established jitney services that afford them the ability to alternatively deploy these pre-existing vehicles for transport, but they too may find themselves faced with having to drop off passengers in locations that simply will not be able to handle the increase in traffic.”

In addition, township officials stated:

“Millburn Township has made several attempts, in conjunction with neighboring communities, to coordinate a Park and Ride from the Livingston Mall, with no response to any of the coordinating municipalities from NJ Transit. The township also spoke to Essex County on bus services from Codey Arena. It was confirmed that no increase in service from Codey Arena would be established.”

• See related article: Millburn Preps For Possible NJ Transit Strike: Travel Tips Here

The Millburn township news release continued:

“Given that the township has over 1,300 commuter permits issued and even more residents that drive to work every day, a limited bus service utilizing the small number of buses that could be procured by our municipality would only serve a very small fraction of our residents. Furthermore, this service option would only take residents to a remote location where additional transportation – transportation that is outside of the jurisdiction of Millburn Township to coordinate or control without NJ Transit cooperation - would be needed to get to a place that accommodates transit to New York City.”

Sign up for Patch email newsletters here.

Send local news tips, photos and press releases to eric.kiefer@patch.com