New buses with bike racks gradually coming to NJ TRANSIT north fleet

At this months meeting of the Middlesex County Transportation Coordinating Committee Meeting this past Tuesday, there was a representative from NJ TRANSIT present.  I took the opportunity to ask the representative about the status of the new, low-floor buses entering the North Jersey Region bus fleet owned and operated by NJ TRANSIT.  Earlier this Winter, I had seen one of these new buses with an unoccupied bike rack while visiting family in Nutley, NJ.

Bike on older style NJ TRANSIT bus.  Photo John Boyle, BCGP.

The NJ TRANSIT representative told me that NJ TRANSIT has received some of the long-anticipated new low-floor buses and that those received, are already in service with the bike racks installed.  However, NJ TRANSIT will continue to operating many of their older style buses in the Northern Fleet WITHOUT bike racks installed as the new buses continue to be delivered.  Since an individual bus is not reserved for a single route, and may be used on different routes on different days and times, NJ TRANSIT cannot guarantee that individual routes nor particular scheduled buses will be serviced by the new buses with bike racks.  As such, passengers should not rely on buses having the capability to carry bicycles until all the new buses are received and the old buses retired.

No date was given as to when all the new buses would be received and the old buses retired.