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The much-talked about public bus system is finally coming to Lakewood. The Township has leased new buses, and Lake Transit, which is run by Jay’s Bus Service, is subleasing the buses and running the local public bus company.

“Committeeman Meir Lichtenstein started working on this years ago when he served as mayor and continued for many years,” Deputy Mayor Isaac Akerman says. “Congressman Chris Smith helped us get a grant for it, and BMG was involved as well.”

Mrs. Rivky Greenspan, who serves as vice president of operations at Lake Transit, spoke about the plans. The buses, which recently arrived in Lakewood, are brand new and wheelchair-accessible, have air conditioning and heating, and are as comfortable as any car. The company has received six buses, but only four will be used at first until the company expands. The bus routes will help to drastically alleviate traffic, as well as get rid of the need for local hitchhiking.

The bus will begin with two routes, one replacing the Job Link route from the downtown area to Industrial Park, and the other going back and forth in the areas between BMG and Westgate, going down Miller Road, up 14th Street, up Forest Avenue through BMG, down Route 9, up Central Avenue, and back to Westgate. “This entire project came about because the Township couldn’t handle running the Job Link route anymore and decided it would be better to have private companies run the buses,” Mrs. Greenspan says.

Plans are underway to add two more routes, one that will go all the way down Route 9, and a fourth that will cover the Princeton-Kennedy-Whispering Pines areas.

The buses will run every 15 minutes at peak times and once every hour during the rest of the day. “We’ll add buses as needed,” Mrs. Greenspan says.

For the first three months, riding on the buses will be absolutely free. “We’re offering this because people in Lakewood aren’t used to the idea of using public transportation instead of driving everywhere, and this will help them realize how convenient the bus system will be,” Mrs. Greenspan says. “We do have grants coming in from NJ Transit and BMG has gotten grants for this as well, but we’ll still be taking a lost in the first three months.”

After the three months are up, the cost will be a dollar per ride. When you add together the costs of maintaining a car and gas along with the inconvenience of being stuck in traffic, carpooling, and relying on others, the dollar cost is well worth it.

Organizers expect the buses to be up and running in approximately a month. Mrs. Greenspan says that while the first route in Industrial Park was arranged relatively easily because it’s on municipal roads, the Westgate route, which stops on Central Avenue, was more difficult because Central is a county road. “Legally there’s no stopping and standing on Central, so we needed the county to pass a motion to change that,” Mrs. Greenspan says. “They also adjusted the route a little so the stops are at what they believe are the safest places.”

Now, the company will submit a petition to the Department of Motor Vehicles in order to get approved to operate in New Jersey. Each stop needs to be approved, so it’s a long and complex process. “We’re hoping that it’ll be expedited soon and we’ll be running within a month,” Mrs. Greenspan says.

It will take a while longer for the Route 9 route to get going, because that’s a state road, which is more complex than municipal or county roads. In addition, New Jersey Transit has a bus line that runs down Route 9, but the frum community doesn’t use it because hardly anyone knows about it and it’s not convenient. Because that route is already in place, the company will have to work out an arrangement that will allow them to run routes on Route 9.

The company is working out a method of payment in addition to cash. “We don’t have to worry about that yet, because the first few months will be free, but we’ve placed fare boxes on the buses and hopefully people will be able to buy bus cards in different places throughout town,” Mrs. Greenspan says.

[TLS-provided by the Lakewood Shopper]