In January 2015, New Jersey Transit asked a studio class at the Bloustein School for assistance with transit improvements and recommendations in a region deemed the “the Bayshore Study Area,” located in central New Jersey on the coast along Middlesex and Monmouth counties.
New Jersey Transit recently implemented some of the recommendations that were made in the studio; these revisions serve Brookdale Community College. A new bus route, bus route 838, merges two lines, providing commuters from Freehold, Sea Bright, Rumson, Fair Haven and eastern Red Bank with a “one-seat” ride to the Lincroft campus. Read more about the project on NJ.com.
“The extension of service to Brookdale, and the restructuring of other routes in the area, originated came from the students’ hard work. From the data, the students made modifications to existing routes in the study area to better serve the communities in the Bayshore Study Region,” said Paul Larrousse, Bloustein faculty fellow and director of the National Transit Institute who co-directed the studio with Steven Fittante, a Senior Associate at RLS and Associates.
“This was truly a group effort and we are very proud that the recommendations from this studio resulted in real change,” Larrousse continued. “Bloustein School studios provide graduate students with the opportunity to work on real-world situations, and more importantly provide practical services to entities like New Jersey Transit who are looking for a fresh perspective in solving existing challenges.”
The study area includes the municipalities of Woodbridge, Perth Amboy, South Amboy, Sayreville, Old Bridge, Monmouth, Aberdeen, Matawan, Keyport, Union Beach, Hazlet, Keyport, Keansburg, Holmdel, Middletown, Atlantic Highlands, Highlands, Fair Haven, Rumson, Sea Bright, Red Bank, Little Silver, Monmouth Beach, Shrewsbury, Tinton Falls, Eatontown, Oceanport, and Long Branch. Within the study area, fourteen different local and commuter bus routes that serve the region were analyzed for ridership, reroute proposals, and other recommendations.
Members the studio included James Bonanno, Sherri Dawson, Ayanthi Gunawardana, Jonathan Internicola, Julius Jessup, Mike Kublanov, Isabel McLoughlin, Katherine O’Kane, Julene Paul, Brandon Williams, Tzu-Yang Wu, and Aaron Zisook.
In addition to the new bus route serving Brookdale, the recommendations included:
SHORT-TERM
- Bus ticket vending machines at Perth Amboy rail station, Elizabeth rail station, New Brunswick Train Station, Menlo Park Mall, Woodbridge Center Mall, and Middlesex County College.
- Short-term Traffic Signal Priority for the industrial park areas near Middlesex County College, and small
shuttle service for the weekend 810. - Modifications to the 817, 834, 831, 832, and 835 stops including extended routes and hours, relocation of
stops, and additional evening or weekend round-trips.
MEDIUM-TERM
- Reroute 832 Route, and convert to community shuttle buses for weekend and off-peak service
LONG-TERM
- Bus Ticket Vending Machines at Middlesex County College, and at key stops in Woodbridge Township, Carteret, and Rahway
- Traffic Signal Prioritization and NJ TRANSIT-wide fare improvements for the 48 route.
- Implementation of a new 838 Route from Red Bank to Long Branch via Little Silver, Fort Monmouth, Oceanport, Ocean Avenue
- Phasing of new NJ Transit Express commuter shuttle and hub facility piloted in Old Bridge, off of Exit 120 of
the Garden State Parkway
The full report of the studio may be found at https://dev.bloustein.rutgers.edu/bayshore-transit-study/.