NJ: NJ Transit bus riders demand better service on 2 Jersey City routes

Bus passengers and state officials are seeking for NJ Transit to provide more frequent service on two crosstown routes in Jersey City.

Residents told NJ Transit’s board on Tuesday that the hourly service on the 86 and 9 routes is insufficient.

Commuters and students rely on the buses to travel between downtown Jersey City, the Heights, and Westside neighborhoods.

NJ Transit CEO Kris Kolluri told riders improvements are coming in June.

The 86 bus serves Jersey City and Union City, but it runs hourly on weekdays and has a circuitous route between downtown and Pacific Avenue.

The 9 bus was one of the routes NJ Transit took over in 2023 from the A&C bus company and provides service between the Westside and downtown.

The route connects Westside residents with Newport mall, the library’s main branch and three middle schools, said Tayla Schwartz, Hudson County Complete Streets vice president.

“My daughter uses it to go to middle school, it is the most direct route to downtown from the Westside, 30 to 40 minutes vs 90 for the 80 (bus), she said.

About 42% of Jersey City residents don’t own cars and opt for public transportation instead, she said.

“It’s hard to do things when the bus comes once an hour and stops running at 7 p.m.,” Schwartz said.

Matthew Graham, of Union City, said he tries to use the 86 bus route to commute to his job in downtown Jersey City, but it’s a challenge.

“It’s so infrequent, it’s easier to go to Hoboken and ride a CitiBike,” he said. “When the 86 is in downtown, it makes loops. They could be a separate route.”

Graham suggested having the 86 bus run every 15 minutes.

“People will say they take a bus to Manhattan and then back to where in New Jersey they want to go.” he said. “That’s unnecessary. I’d be grateful for more stops in Union City.”

Assemblywoman Barbara McCann Stamato, D- Hudson, urged NJ Transit to improve crosstown bus service to the Heights and Westside.

“Many of my residents depend on the bus to get to work, but infrequent crosstown service makes these trips difficult and unrealistic,” she said. “It forces people into cars.”

Jersey City’s Westside and Heights neighborhoods have a population that is the size of Hoboken, said Jimmy Lee, a Jersey City resident, bus rider and a trustee of Hudson County Safe Streets

“When I do catch a local bus, I feel like I won the lottery,” he said. “I’m glad to have the 86, but many people need more options.”

Lee and other speakers noted how ridership increased on the 119 and 10 bus routes after NJ Transit increased service frequency.

“The only direct route from the Heights is the 86 to the city center,” said Katie Brennan, a resident and democratic assembly candidate for the 32nd District. “We can get to New York, but can’t get around our own city.”

NJ Transit CEO Kris Kolluri agreed that the 86 “runs a serpentine route” and that the agency took over the 9 route to preserve it when A&C left the business.

“We are going to fix it in June and address issues of regular riders and make sure have a good route they can ride on,” he said.

That route recalibration will occur separately from a larger ongoing study of how to redesign Hudson County bus routes, he said.

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