By Larry Higgs | NJ Advance Media

Channeling the complaints of many bus commuters, Kara Corridan said she’d like to be treated better, much better during her daily commute.

“There is no dignity in being a NJ Transit rider, especially via bus,” said Corridan, who rides the 114 bus between Springfield and New York. “We need new buses that won’t break down regularly. But what would make a huge difference is a waiting area/line at Port Authority (bus terminal) that is well marked, has enough space for each bus line and doesn’t make us feel like pathetic animals in a pen while we wait.”

Bus riders make up about two-thirds of NJ Transit’s ridership, but those commuters say they feel like stepchildren compared to rail commuters. With Gov. Phil Murphy’s announcement last Thursday of steps being taken to ease overcrowding on NJ Transit trains, bus commuters asked, what’s being done to help us?

Bus commuters on the Delayed on NJ Transit and NJ Transit Riders Revolt Facebook groups responded to questions asked by NJ Advance Media about the biggest bus problems that need to be addressed. Here are their top issues.

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(Larry Higgs | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Plastic poles cause delays.

Delays due to problems on the Xclusive Bus Lane on Route 495 east to the Lincoln Tunnel are a top commuter complaint. There seems to be an almost daily delay because Port Authority workers have to stop traffic to replace delineators that are knocked out-of-place, riders say. Delineators are plastic poles that separate the bus lane from Route 495 west.

“Fix the delineators. It impacts everyone daily,” said Oliver Mingullion, who takes the 440 bus between East Brunswick and New York. “There is nothing worse than the standard 15-minute delay at the XBL and you have already been standing there with no movement for 40 minutes.”

Other riders said a better solution is needed to separate the XBL.

“They need to come up with a better option to separate the XBL from local lanes, said Jennifer Stacy, who rides the 164X bus. “NJ Transit should be realistic when they announce delays. To say there may be a 15-minute delay when it is at least 30-45 minutes angers me as a customer.”

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Buses break down too often.

A federal report noted that NJ Transit buses had the sixth worst breakdown rate in the country in 2016. It's is a reality that commuters said they deal with almost daily.

"How can these buses break down so frequently? I don't understand how there can be so many broken down buses within the same 30-minute period so frequently," said James Michael, who rides the 320 bus from North Bergen. "And when a bus breaks down in the XBL or the tunnel, it screws it up for the entire system."





“We’ve had a ton of problems with broken seats,” said Jen Mayhew who rides the 324 bus from Wayne. “The cushion in the seat slides forward whenever the driver hits the brakes. (There are) popped springs in the seat backs, seats where the recliner is broken and the seat won’t stay upright. It’s gotten really bad.”

Other riders backed her complaints up.

"The seats that won't stay upright are the worst,” said Joseph Michael. ” The driver hits the brake and you go flying back. It's dangerous.”

Some relief is coming. NJ Transit is systematically replacing its cruiser bus fleet, but that will take several years to finish.

“I completely agree with Jen's description of the declining condition of the buses. The buses are aging and maintenance is clearly lacking,” said Alan Lash, who also rides the 324 bus.

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(NJ.com file photo)

Bus lane and tunnel problems.

Commuters said the Port Authority needs better plans to quickly clear the Lincoln Tunnel and the XBL when a vehicle breaks down.

“Dedicate two lanes or one tunnel tube for buses. Have some sort of regulation on single-passenger cars going into the tunnel during peak rush hour,” said Tata Lustberg, who rides the 192X bus. “I am not even going to get started on the drop off in the Port Authority terminal, (one) morning it took 20 minutes just to get into the terminal from the bus ramp.”

Breakdowns also can bring the XBL to a standstill which is a major frustration bus commuters mentioned.

“They really should have an alternate plan in place when the XBL is down. How about closing off one of the car lanes?” said Christine Stazzone Maldonado, who rides the 139 bus. “In the evenings, they should close off one of the inbound lanes and make it exclusively for buses. Whenever there is (traffic) “volume” the buses can’t get through.”

Al Harris was one of several commuters who said NJ Transit should divert buses from XBL onto the 495 local lanes in the morning if the XBL backs up and the local lanes are moving.

A commuter who takes the 139 from Old Bridge, said the afternoon commute home can be worse than the morning.

“The afternoons are a nightmare every day, there's an intense bottleneck merging onto the NJ Turnpike from the tolls all the way past Secaucus station,” said James Ingrassia. “There should be a bus lane on the Turnpike during the afternoon. It can easily alleviate 20 to 25 mins of commuting time.”

Others said NJ Transit should empower bus drivers to take an alternate route when there are delays on the regular route due to a crash or break down.

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Toll plazas are free-for-alls.

Something also needs to be done to untangle the traffic mess at the NJ Turnpike toll booths in the mornings, where cars and buses jockey for position at the Exit 16E toll plaza, said another commuter.



"Dedicate lanes at 16E to bus lanes only so that buses trying to get to the XBL off the Turnpike don't have to wrestle with single passenger cars to get into the XBL. That's half the battle," said Tina Gonzalez, who rides the 133 bus. "Also have stricter enforcement and fines for single passenger cars that ride in the HOV lanes on the Turnpike. (There are) too many near misses with cars trying to dart in and out (that) shouldn't be in there in the first place."

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(Larry Higgs | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Too much Lincoln Tunnel traffic.

The Port Authority also got its share of the blame from commuters for not having plans to address increased traffic and delays at the Lincoln Tunnel.

“(There are) still no plans (or financial appetite) to definitively address the (morning) Lincoln Tunnel/XBL capacity issues. Any traffic management/scheduling improvements made over the last few years were just band-aids,” said Yitzchak Hollander who rides the 165R bus. “A multi-billion dollar (bus terminal) renovation investment is useless if inbound traffic issues are not addressed.”

Others questioned the capacity of the Lincoln Tunnel to handle more traffic.

“The biggest issues are obviously all those buses going thru one lane in the Lincoln, and not enough room to unload at the Port Authority,” said Matt Doyle who rides the 177X from Bergenfield.

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Problems in the bus terminal.

Doyle faulted procedures for loading buses at gate 210 in the bus terminal, calling it “painful to watch” and suggested improving rush hour bus loading by finding ways to load two buses at one during rush hour.

Gate attendants at the bus terminal don't clearly communicate gate changes, delays, and other information, said Nina Giodano, who rides the 190 bus from Rutherford.

“They expect commuters to just know and accept changes at the last minute,” she said. “I’m not entirely sure why the attitudes of these employees is such an issue.”

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(Larry Higgs | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Buses missing stops.

Bev Anderson, a 168T bus commuter had a list of issues, including problems with schedules, buses that bunch up together and miss stops.

“In the morning commute, they never stick to the schedule, if you miss a bus, you've missed two busses and have to wait 30-40 minutes (vs. 15) for the next bus,” she said. “When two buses come at the same time, they leap-frog instead of the empty one going on ahead to pick up all the people who've been waiting for 30-40 minutes.”

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(Larry Higgs | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Read more:

Murphy promises short-term relief for crowded commuter trains.

NJ Transit buses ranked sixth worst in nation.

$712 million worth of new NJ Transit buses rolling off line.

Why you'll be safer in NJ transit's new cruiser buses.