Will Chatham Twp. Residents Pay $10/Day For A Station Shuttle?

Chatham Township, NJ - At last night's Chatham Township Committee Meeting, Committee Member Curt Ritter reported on the progress being made on a possible shuttle bus service between a yet to be determined location in Chatham Township to the Chatham Borough train station.

Over 800 people responded to a Chatham Township survey which was done in September of 2018. At that time, the majority of respondents indicated that they would be interested in using a shuttle service at least 4 days a week if it were available. Ritter did not mention what the results of last year's survey showed regarding the proposed pricing of the shuttle service at last night's meeting.

The proposed price of the shuttle pilot program is raising some Township commuter's eyebrows. Ritter stated that it would initially cost $5 each way to ride the 14-passenger bus, which would be run by State Shuttle, a transportation company that offers a range of door-to-door and shared-ride shuttle services.

However, earlier this year the app-based Boxcar company began offering their service in the Chatham area which allows users to reserve all-day parking very near Chatham Station in advance for between $7 and $10 a day.

The Boxcar app allows users to reserve their parking days in advance and at prices not much higher than the $5.50/Day for non-residents at Chatham Station. There are many spaces available as well.

Committee Member Ritter made no comment as to why the proposed price of the Chatham Township shuttle service is so high.

Other nearby towns that offer a station shuttle service include Maplewood, NJ ($2 each way with the option of a $125 yearly pass), Springfield, NJ ($3 each way with the option of a $50 monthly/quarterly pass), and Summit, NJ offers a shuttle service powered by the popular ride-hailing app Lift for only $2 per ride.