NJT Cuts Bus Service; Coalition Objects

New Jersey Transit eliminated 4 bus lines running in Newark and Bloomfield, while cutting service on other lines in the area.  The cuts will take effect on September 1st.  The agency decided to save one of the routes slated for elimination; the #78, which provides service between Penn Station and Broad Street Station in Newark and Secaucus, primarily during peak commuting hours.  At the same time, service on two other lines will be enhanced.
The Coalition objected to the manner in which notice of the cuts was given, because the official notice mentioned “optimization” of bus services, with mention of line eliminations relegated to the bottom of the document.  The Coalition also objected to service cuts at a time when NJT is spending hundreds of millions of dollars for high-priced dual-mode locomotives, as well as 100 multilevel railcars that will not be needed to operate planned levels of rail service.