NJ Transit Bus Operations

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NJ Transit Bus Operations

NJ Transit bus operates along Christopher Columbus Av in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Parent	NJ Transit
Founded	1980 (purchase of Transport of New Jersey)
Headquarters	Newark, New Jersey
Service area	New Jersey (statewide)
Service type	Local and commuter bus transit, Newark Light Rail
Routes	268 (See list below)
Stations	26 bus terminals, 19,500 bus stops, 17 light rail stations[1]
Fleet	3,052 buses, 696 leased to private operators 21 light rail vehicles[1]
Annual ridership	136,295,400 (2025)[2]
Operator	See operator list below
Chief executive	Kris Kolluri
Website	njtransit.com

NJ Transit Bus Operations is the bus division of NJ Transit, providing local and commuter bus service throughout New Jersey and adjacent areas of New York State (Manhattan in New York City, Rockland County, and Orange County) and Pennsylvania (Philadelphia and the Lehigh Valley). It operates its own lines as well as contracts others to private carriers. In 2025, the bus system had a ridership of 136,295,400.

Prior to 1948, most public transportation in New Jersey was provided by the Public Service Corporation of New Jersey, a utility company that also operated the Public Service Railway division. In 1948, the Public Service Corporation was divided into two entities: the Public Service Electric and Gas Company, which inherited the utility operations, and the Public Service Coordinated Transportation Company (PSCT), which inherited the transit operations. PSCT provided service throughout New Jersey, originally using trolleys and then transitioning to trolley buses, and buses. During the 1970s, the New Jersey Department of Transportation began funding the routes of Public Service, now renamed Transport of New Jersey (TNJ), contracting with TNJ and other companies to operate local bus service throughout New Jersey.^[3]

NJ Transit came into being as the result of the New Jersey Public Transportation Act of 1979 to "acquire, operate, and contract for transportation services in the public interest". NJ Transit Bus Operations came into being the following year, when it acquired Transport of New Jersey from PSE&G.^[4] Other purchases and buyouts in the 1980s expanded the bus division of NJ Transit, including the assumption of service for Somerset Bus Company in 1982 and the acquisition of the Atlantic City Transportation Company in 1987.^[5] In 1992 NJ Transit Mercer, Inc., which was the successor to the former "Mercer Metro" operation that NJ Transit took over in 1984 for the Trenton and Princeton areas, was folded into NJ Transit Bus Operations.^[6] In 2010, PABCO Transit (Passaic-Athenia Bus) taken over under the subsidiary NJ Transit Morris, Inc.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic in New Jersey numerous private carriers went out of business and NJ Transit took over many of their routes, including those of Olympia Trails subsidiaries (ONE Bus, Red & Tan in Hudson County), A&C Bus Corporation, DeCamp Bus Lines, and Transdev.^[7][8]

Routes are numbered by where they operate in the state of New Jersey, however, there are a few exceptions to the general rule due to subsequent changes to some routes operating in Central and North Jersey. Fare and route can also be further elucidated on some of the individual route schedules^[9] or the trip planner.^[10]

• 1-99: Intrastate service originating from Newark, Jersey City, Hoboken, or Elizabeth.
• 100-199: Routes from central and northern New Jersey to New York City.
• 200-299: No routes with these numbers; a few existed in the 1980s but were soon renumbered.
• 300-399: Special-event and park services, school tripper services, park-and-ride services, long-distance suburban routes from Philadelphia, New York-Atlantic City express. Beginning in 2010, numbers in this series are also assigned to North Jersey intrastate routes formerly suffixed with an X.
• 400-449: Short-distance suburban routes in southwestern New Jersey and to Philadelphia.
• 450-499: Local routes within Camden, Gloucester, and Salem counties.
• 500-549: Local routes within Atlantic and Cape May counties.
• 550-599: Long-distance routes from Atlantic City serving points in southern New Jersey and Philadelphia.
• 600-699: Local routes within Mercer County.
• 700-799: Local routes within Passaic and Bergen counties not running to Newark.
• 800-880: Local routes within Middlesex, Monmouth, and Morris counties not running to Newark.
• Wheels Suburban Transportation Services (890 and up).

In most cases, routes retain the same numbers they had under the Public Service/Transport of New Jersey umbrella.

As of 2024 NJ Transit had over 2800 buses, including 147 compressed natural gas (CNG) buses and 12 hybrid electric buses, as well as community shuttles.^[11]

NJ Transit Bus Operations is divided into the Northern, Central, and Southern Divisions, and contract operations.^[12]

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The Northern Division consists of six garages.

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The Central Division consists of eight garages and one light rail operations facility.

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The Southern Division consists of five garages.

These companies operate service under contract to New Jersey Transit. Service is provided using New Jersey Transit-branded buses.

• South Jersey Transportation Authority
• NJ Transit Rail Operations

Wikimedia Commons has media related to New Jersey Transit Bus Operations.

• New Jersey Transit official website
• Unofficial New Jersey Transit fan page
• Unofficial New Jersey Transit bus map