Bus Service Switches In Livingston, W. Orange; Tunnel Delays Loom

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — A luxury bus company's experimental foray into Livingston and West Orange is over. But luckily for local commuters, a pair of other commuting options have sprung up in its wake.

OurBus, a luxury bus service that recently launched NYC routes in Livingston and West Orange, officially ended service in the two towns last month. While another bus service – Boxcar – and the Livingston Express Shuttle have jumped in to pick up the slack, the company’s departure from Essex County comes at a stressful time for local commuters that travel to New York City, who will face of years of anticipated traffic congestion near the Lincoln Tunnel beginning Friday, Aug. 17.

• See related article: DOT Says Expect Traffic Near Lincoln Tunnel… For Years

After listening to "numerous requests" from local residents "frustrated by lack of direct transportation from their town to Lower Manhattan,” OurBus launched local service in Livingston and West Orange last spring.

The service in Essex County didn’t last long; the company officially ended the routes on July 30 after coming to the difficult decision to “focus on inter-city bus routes.” However, in an attempt to lessen the blow for its riders, OurBus maintained its previous provider, driver and route unchanged for two weeks while passing off service to Boxcar.

OurBus wrote on July 25:

“Over the past two weeks we have had a chance to analyze the ridership on these lines and meet many of the frequent riders. We observed that, similar to Boxcar's bus routes, OurBus has developed a community of dedicated riders who were very interested to keeping the route alive… Boxcar has agreed to assume a portion of this route to maintain service continuity.”

While Boxcar kept many stops on the Livingston and West Orange routes, the handoff came with a price tag… literally.

“In order to make this a sustainable business proposition, Boxcar needs to raise ticket prices in line with costs,” OurBus wrote. “Starting [July 30], tickets will cost $11.99, and can be purchased through the Boxcar app.”

After a two-week trial period, Boxcar announced that it had come up with a “workable solution to keep the route going,” which involved cutting the number of available stops and raising single ticket prices again to $13.99.

The changes were put into effect on Monday, Aug. 13.

“While there will be some changes, we hope you'll agree that commuting is #BetterWithBoxcar,” the company wrote last week. “Our goal is to continue to expand our service in these towns, with more departure times in the future. In order to do that, we need to have a sustainable base on which to build.”

However, there is a silver lining to the situation, Boxcar wrote. Namely, the new, 39-passenger luxury minibuses that will service the route – and which can use the bus lane – hopefully helping local commuters survive two-and-a-half-years of expected delays at the Lincoln Tunnel due to bridge repair on Rt. 495.

Boxcar’s “revised schedule” for Livingston and West Orange includes:

• Livingston & Cedar - the bus will arrive at this stop for 20 minutes before departure, which will be at 7:05 a.m.
• Cedar St. & Sycamore Ave - 7:08 a.m.
• Northfield Ave & Old Short Hills Rd - 7:11 a.m.
• West Orange Arena Park & Ride - 7:15 a.m.
• Northfield Ave & Prospect - 7:18 a.m.
• In NYC, we will stop at 42nd & 8th, 42nd & 6th, 43rd & Madison, 47th & Madison, 52nd & Madison, 57th & Madison

LIVINGSTON EXPRESS SHUTTLE

While the Boxcar service may help Livingston and West Orange commuters get to work in the mornings, it doesn’t continue service in the evenings, leaving its riders with the need to find a way to get back from NYC.

In attempt to plug the gap in Livingston, the Livingston Express Shuttle plans to offer commuters a new one-way, evening-only monthly pass that’s geared towards Boxcar users.

Starting in September, commuters who select this pass can take the train from New York City to South Orange and then take the quick shuttle trip to the Livingston Mall in the evening. Uninterrupted, the trip from New York Penn Station to the Livingston Mall takes about an hour, municipal officials stated in a news release.

“This option allows commuters to travel to NYC in the morning via their preferred mode of transportation, and make the shuttle the best and quickest method to get home,” Shuttle Committee Chairperson Alan Karpas said.

“OurBus has ceased operations and a new bus service, Boxcar, is testing a concept providing one route in the morning but no return bus routes in the evening,” Karpas said. “We understand that a bus lane will remain open only in the morning. There is no bus lane in the evening, which complicates the bus commute home.”

The new one-way pass will provide evening transportation for those commuters who do not take the shuttle in the morning but who need a return trip solution, Livingston officials said.

The Livingston Express Shuttle operates every half-hour in the mornings between 6 a.m. and 8:45 a.m. and in the evenings beginning with the 3:22 p.m. Midtown Direct departure from New York Penn and concluding with the 8:05 p.m. train departure. The complete schedule is available at livingstonnj.org/ExpressShuttle.

September monthly passes, including the new "One-Way" evening-only monthly passes, will be available for $35 through Community Pass starting on Aug. 29 at 7 a.m. Community Pass can be accessed from the Express Shuttle page at the link above or at livingstonnj.org/CommunityPass. Individuals who do not want to purchase a monthly pass can ride the shuttle for $2 per trip.

Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site here. Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com

Photo: OurBus

Don’t forget to visit the Patch Livingston Facebook page here.

Don’t forget to visit the Patch West Orange Facebook page here.