NJ Transit and the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission are considering options for a Bus Rapid Transit System along Route 1 between South Brunswick and Lawrence that they hope will reduce traffic and congestion on the roadway.
It is a plan that, on the surface, would seem to make sense. The idea is to create mass-transit opportunities along the Route 1 Corridor without having to pony up the kind of cash that a series of rail stations might require.
I’d like to support something like this — the devil is in the details, so we will wait for real substantive discussion — but I’m a bit skeptical that it will draw the kind of ridership that would be necessary to a.) make it self-sustaining and b.) have a real impact on traffic.
My sense of local commuters — based on years of informal observation — is that they value their independence and freedom and that getting them out of their cars will take a major effort. I think it is probably a worthy effort, but we will need to do more than provide a BRT or rail or expanded parking (commuters to New York are different and generally willing to give up their cars to catch a nap on the bus or let someone else do the driving).
I think NJ Transit needs to be prepared, should it move ahead with some version of this plan, to invest some cash in a major advertising campaign and cross its fingers.
South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick
Hank Kalet 