SMART bus office to open

by Sean Ruppert, Staff Writer
   The township is set to cut the ribbon on the office of the new South Brunswick Municipal Area Residential Transit System, Wednesday.
   The ribbon-cutting will be held at 10:30 a.m. at the Municipal Building.
   The new bus service will feature commuter routes during the morning and evening rushes as well as routes for senior and disabled citizens to shopping centers, doctors, and the senior center during the afternoon once it becomes fully operational next year. The buses will also be equipped with a GPS system that will allow riders to track the progress of the buses on their routes on the Internet and on TV3.
   The service is being paid for with a $4.1 million federal grant awarded to the town in 2003. The grant is being disbursed in equal payments of approximately $1 million over four years, beginning this month.
   ”The whole intention of SMART is to keep people out of traffic and maximize the existing mass transit,” Township Manager Matt Watkins said. “SMART will be able to pick you up in your community and conveniently take you to mass transit.”
   The SMART bus service will begin next year by running the current senior and disabled bus routes, however, Mr. Watkins said they will soon be hiring additional drivers to ensure the routes are run every day.
   ”Right now if we have a driver sick, we have to drop that route for the day,” Mr. Watkins said. “I want to stress that for seniors, they won’t see a difference in their busing service, except that there might be a different person answering the phone and it will be more reliable.”
   Mr. Watkins said that the town has ordered five new buses that will be used for the commuter lines. He said he expects these buses to be delivered sometime toward the middle of 2009. When the new buses are delivered, the commuter lines and GPS system will begin, initially with one route ending at the Jersey Avenue train station.
   Mr. Watkins said that with each successive disbursement of the grant the town will purchase more buses, hire more drivers, add more routes and create park and rides. The service will eventually have four commuter routes. Three of them will end at the Jersey Avenue station, while the fourth ends at the park and ride near N.J. Turnpike Exit 8A on Route 130.
   The buses will likely run from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. as commuter lines, then switch over to senior and disabled busing for the afternoon. The buses will resume commuter routes at 4 p.m. through 8 p.m.