Princeton Awards $44K Public Transit Service Contact To WeDriveU

PRINCETON, NJ — The Town Council on Monday passed a resolution awarding a transit service contract to WeDriveU in the amount of $44,000.

The company will provide transit services that will temporarily replace the suspended FreeB shuttle, while the township works to find a more permanent solution. The FreeB shuttle service was suspended last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The service operated using Princeton-owned vehicles, but the township found it difficult to bring back the service due to economic feasibility.

During the meeting on Monday, Councilwoman Mia Sacks reminded residents that the services provided by WeDriveU are “interim.”

“We've been particularly concerned about our seniors and underserved populations who are isolated due to the lack of transit,” said Sacks. “This is a service doing the FreeB route, minus several stops including Princeton Community village.”

The township has put this interim measure in place using the “Extraordinary and Unspecifiable Services” measure, which allows them to fund services quickly. However, there is a cap to the amount the township can spend.

“We are bound by a local public contract law. With public contract law, there are specific thresholds for when we need to receive bids for services versus when we can get quotes for services. Because we have a qualified purchasing agent, our bid threshold is $44,000,” explained Deanna Stockton, municipal engineer.

The new system will run a continuous 30-minute loop, Monday through Friday, in the morning and afternoon.

Adding evenings to the schedule will result in the township going over its threshold of $44,000, said Stockton. “If we extend the hours to that service, we would require more than one driver which puts us over the threshold.” This could also result in the shortening of the duration of the service provided.

The service will operate for four months, during which time officials will evaluate the interim service, build bid specifications and go out to bid and award a contract for a long-term transit solution.

“I’m pretty excited about the route,” said Councilman David Cohen.” It allows the new FreeB to come every half hour which is better than what the old FreeB was in terms of schedule.”

Meanwhile, the Princeton Transit Committee is working on a proposal to submit to the Transit Trust Fund for an in-depth study on Princeton’s transit needs. A component of that study will involve a comprehensive outreach to Princeton's underserved community and their transit needs.

The new transit service will make a 30 minute fixed route from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. from Monday through Friday, for an estimated cost of $12,708 per month.

To read the resolution, click here.

Want to win Six Flags Great Adventure Season Passes? Here's how.

Thank you for reading. Have a correction or news tip? Email sarah.salvadore@patch.com

Get breaking news alerts on your phone with our app. Download here. Sign up to get Patch emails so you don't miss out on local and statewide news.