NJ Transit Expanding Service, Adding Routes To American Dream

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – NJ Transit plans to launch new express bus services and expand several local routes to help people get to the soon-to-be-opened American Dream in the Meadowlands.

When the $5 billion retail and entertainment destination opens on Oct. 25, NJ Transit will debut daily express service from Port Authority Bus Terminal to the new mall that will run every 30 minutes, the agency announced Thursday afternoon.

A second bus will run daily from Secaucus Junction to American Dream every half hour.

To help provide transportation options for workers at the mega-mall, NJ Transit will expand operating hours on the following lines starting Aug. 31.

• No. 85 – which operates from Hoboken/Union City to Secaucus
• No. 703 – which operates from Paterson/Passaic to East Rutherford
• No. 772 – which operates from Hackensack to the Meadowlands

The modified service will include stops at American Dream, but until a dedicated hub is completed at the mall, the buses will stop at the Racetrack at the Meadowlands. NJ Transit noted that Route No. 772 will include weekend service as of Aug. 31.

Fare information, schedules and gate departure information for service from Port Authority Bus Terminal and Secaucus to American Dream is still being determined, NJ Transit said.

In coming weeks, NJ Transit plans to hold public hearings to get feedback on the new weeknight and weekend service on Route No. 772, as well as the new express bus services. Dates, times and locations of the hearings will be announced soon, the agency said.

“Prior to the public hearings, these services will be implemented on a pilot basis to allow for the collection of public comments,” NJ Transit said in a press release.

Additionally, the agency said it plans to “monitor any possible crowds at both Secaucus and the Port Authority Bus Terminal and ensure that demand is properly met with commensurate service.”

Rail service will be added “once the rail system is resilient enough that doing so won’t adversely affect” other commuters, NJ Transit also said.

Between 30 and 40 million people are expected to visit American Dream within its first year of opening.

BesidesNJ Transit, American Dream has said it is working with NY Waterway to provide New York City visitors and others from the surrounding area with alternative means of getting there. The mall’s property will include 30,000 parking spaces and a ride-share hub.

When the mall opens, it will contain more than 450 retail, food and specialty stores and more than a dozen entertainment venues, such as indoor amusement and water parks, an aquarium, a performing arts theater and an ice rink.

A few highlights include: Nickelodeon Universe theme park with the steepest roller coaster in the world, the first indoor ski and snowboard park in the Western Hemisphere, and first Sea Life Aquarium in New Jersey with a walk-through, saltwater tunnel.

It was originally slated to open in 2017, but Triple Five pushed back the completion date due to difficulties it faced securing the financing