BY SETH MANDEL
Staff Writer
Freedom was never so inexpensive.Middlesex County officials yesterday announced plans to provide senior citizens, those with disabilities and others confined to their homes with low-cost bus services throughout the southern portion of the county.
“This is fantastic,” said Monroe Township Council President Joanne Connolly. “It will give people a feeling of independence to get into the loop and into places they want to go. It was the one thing that was missing.”
The two bus lines, which will be open to all residents, will cost $1 each way for the general public; 50 cents for senior and disabled citizens.
“How can you beat that?” Jamesburg Councilwoman Barbara Carpenter asked during a press conference announcing the new program at the Brunswick Square Mall, East Brunswick, on Tuesday.
Carpenter added that the shuttle will not only benefit seniors and disabled citizens, but also families who have young children but only one car.
“It’s just a win-win situation for everyone involved,” Carpenter said.
The Brunswick Square Mall-Monroe-Jamesburg Shuttle will make stops at the Jamesburg Subway, Regency Walk and Clearwater developments in Helmetta, Woodmere and Spotswood senior housing developments in Spotswood, and the Halls Corner and Oak Creek Village developments, East Brunswick Senior Center, Civic Center Mall, ShopRite and the Brunswick Square Mall, in East Brunswick.
The New Brunswick-Jamesburg-8A Shuttle will stop at the New Brunswick train station on George Street, the North Brunswick Shopping Center, the Jamesburg Subway, Access Road, Rossmoor and Barkley Village.
Spotswood Mayor Barry Zagnit said the county used to offer shuttle service, but its ridership decreased and there was no need for it, until now.
“Our seniors were essentially housebound if they didn’t have a car, or if they didn’t have a friend to drive them,” Zagnit said.
Middlesex County Freeholder Director David Crabiel said the county’s population has grown to more than 785,000 residents, and its senior population is growing at a feverish pace.
“Every one of these residents needs to be able to access all the area has to offer, from employment and retail centers to the excellent health-care facilities and schools that call Middlesex County home,” Crabiel said.
Crabiel said the county’s Department of Transportation was formed in August to accomplish two primary goals — to improve transportation programs already offered to residents, and to work with municipal officials around the county to increase transportation services.
“The Middlesex County Community Shuttle Program reaches these goals,” Crabiel said. “We’re proud of what’s happened up to this point, and certainly we’re proud today.”
The buses will arrive at each stop every hour, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and passengers will be able to transfer from one shuttle to the other if they need to change route. Riders can also request a route deviation if it is within two blocks of the route, as long as the request is made by 3 p.m. the prior day.
Passengers with disabilities can make reservations for curb-to-curb service, and anyone can be picked up anywhere along the routes by simply signaling the driver of the shuttle.
“It’s just a safe, economical way of traveling,” Connolly said. “It’s an act of genius.”
Helmetta Council President Tom Reid said the buses, which will be active starting June 27, are another way to keep the county advanced and safe for its residents.
Woodmere senior housing resident Erik Campbell said he is under 60, so he is unable to use the senior shuttle there.
“So this is going to be wonderful for me,” he said.
Anne Jawidzik said she knows she will be using the shuttle, and was fascinated by the large-scale project.
Janine Balazs, director of Spotswood’s office on aging, said she is also a disabled resident. The new shuttle service, she said, will give both seniors and disabled residents a rare opportunity to travel the county without having to drive.
“I’m very excited about it,” Balazs said. “It will give us back some of our independence. I don’t have enough positive things to say about it. It’s just fantastic.”
Monroe Councilman Irwin Nalitt said the township just received a $400,000 federal grant to augment the shuttles. He said the township will purchase five buses: one that will take residents to the senior center; one that will take passengers to the Freehold Raceway Mall in Freehold Township, Monmouth County, and the surrounding area; two buses that will travel west to Route 130 and the Route 1 corridor to Princeton Junction; and a fifth to follow the 600 line, which originates in Plainsboro.
Nalitt said he hopes those routes will be in operation early next year, and called the initial shuttle program “much needed and a good start.”