NJ TRANSIT will initiate an emergency bus service plan in Bergen, Passaic, and Hudson counties, beginning August 17, for routes abandoned by Coach USA with limited advance notice.

The plan, which required a monumental effort from NJ TRANSIT’s bus service planning staff in a very compressed timeframe, will provide customers of those routes with uninterrupted bus service.

“While presenting significant challenges to NJ TRANSIT resources, we are once again stepping up after yet another private carrier abandons service with little notice,” said NJ TRANSIT President/CEO Kevin S. Corbett. “We are ensuring that the thousands of customers who depend on these routes for their mobility retain these vital bus services.”

NJ TRANSIT’s Coach USA Replacement Plan

Academy Bus will assume the affected routes in Bergen and Passaic counties with no changes to routes, schedules, or fares.

Academy had previously been awarded the contract to operate the Passaic County routes beginning Sept. 1 and will assume those routes 15 days earlier. Academy will also assume the routes in Bergen County on an emergency basis.

NJ TRANSIT will directly operate service for the affected Hudson County routes, using existing resources while minimizing the impact to existing bus routes to the greatest extent possible.

The agency is assuring customers that all of the routes will see no difference in the schedules, fares, routes, bus stops, or the look of the buses.

Why NJ TRANSIT is Making the Move

NJ TRANSIT formally received written notice on July 10 of Coach USA’s intentions to abandon three of their five contracts — Bergen, Passaic, and Hudson — with a cessation of operation at the close of business on August 16.

Previously, NJ TRANSIT also absorbed the abandoned routes from private carriers DeCamp, A&C, and O.N.E. last year. The efforts to assume abandoned private carrier routes present significant challenges for NJ TRANSIT’S resources.