Time’s Almost Up To Weigh In On NJT’s American Dream Bus Plan

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ – Time is almost up to give NJ Transit feedback on its plans to launch a new express bus service and expand several local routes to help people get to the soon-to-be-open American Dream.

Written comments can be submitted to the agency through midnight, Oct. 7 and can be done by emailing 2019busservice@njtransit.comor logging onto njtransit.com/publichearings/bus.

A public hearing is scheduled for Oct. 7 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Bergen County Freeholders Office, 5thFloor, One Bergen County Plaza in Hackensack. On Oct. 3, a hearing will be held at the Journal Square Transportation Center in Jersey City.

Comments can also be mailed to the Public Hearing Office, 9thFloor, NJ Transit, One Penn Plaza East, Newark, NJ, 07105-2246.

RELATED: What Will Be Open At American Dream On Oct. 25?

According to NJ Transit, the feedback will be presented to the agency’s board of directors prior to a final decision on service offerings to the $5 billion retail and entertainment destination.

NJ Transit's Plan

• Beginning Oct. 25, when American Dream opens, NJ Transit will begin operating an express route, No. 355, from the Port Authority Bus Terminal to American Dream. Buses will run every 30 minutes. NJ Transit wants to establish a premium fare for this route.
• A second bus will run daily from Secaucus Junction to American Dream every half hour.
• NJ Transit added weekend and weekday service to route No. 772 so people could attend job fairs for positions at American Dream. The route 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 added Sunday service to route No. 119 on Sept. 1. The route runs between Bayonne and Jersey City and New York City every hour during the day and every two hours during late night and early morning hours.

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.

Besides NJ 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.