Getting to the Big Apple from Hillsborough during the week will soon be made easier for township residents, thanks to the introduction of a new express bus service offered by Suburban Transit.
Starting on Monday, Oct. 17, Suburban Transit Line 200 will take riders from the Hillsborough Promenade, located at the shopping center at 315 Route 206, to Grand Central Terminal and the United Nations.
“We are happy to announce this new service available for commuters to access a Park and Ride here in Hillsborough with express bus service to the city,” Mayor Frank DelCore said.
According to the current timetable, trips begin at the promenade at 6 a.m. during the week, with additional pickup times at 6:30, 7 and 7:30 a.m.
During the morning, the new bus service will make stops at 42nd Street and 7th Avenue, 42nd Street and 5th Avenue, 42nd Street and 3rd Avenue and at the United Nations.
Return trips will start at the United Nations each weekday on a half-hourly basis from 4:30 to 6 p.m. and will make stops at the aforementioned intersections.
Daily service will come to an end at 7:30 p.m. when the last groups of commuters return to the promenade.
“I know it’s not the easiest commute … so to be able to have a direct bus line from here will certainly be a benefit to our New York commuters,” Mr. DelCore said.
Officials said the township’s agreement with the transportation company came after months of negotiations that started in July.
“Committeeman Greg Burchette, the mayor and the committee had talked about this for a while now in trying to look at transportation from Hillsborough to New York,” Business Administrator Anthony Ferrera said. “We were planning to work with Bridgewater and we were trying to figure out how we could collectively offer service to our residents.”
When coming up with the plan, Mr. Ferrera said the township was “fortunate” that it had already established an area for a park and ride location at the Promenade through a previous agreement with the Planning Board “many years ago.”
Thanks to that initial agreement, the new park and ride at the Hillsborough Promenade will provide free parking to Hillsborough residents.
Additional information into the public’s need for such a direct route into the city was collected by the township during the summer through an online survey.
Though data from that survey went directly to the bus company, Mr. Ferrera said the information collected helped convince Suburban Transit and its parent company, Coach USA, to establish the route.
“As a result of that survey, we were able to make sure that the ridership would be where it needed to be,” Mr. Ferrera said. “Once the survey was set, we put the plan into action very quickly, so we’re pleased with the speed and commitment from Suburban to get this done.”
Once the route begins, fare rates will be $15 for a one-way ticket and $125 for a 10-trip package. A half-fare option is also available at $7.50 for senior citizens over the age of 62 and people with disabilities.
Though the current timetable only services weekday trips into and out of the city, Mr. Ferrera said possible weekend trips could potentially be added in the future.
“(Suburban’s) first priority was getting the main commuters here service, but I think it would also be successful to add Saturday service. People would love to go out to the city to go out for dinner or see a show,” he said.
For a full listing of times and ticket information, visit the Suburban Transit website at www.suburbantransit.com or call (732) 249-1100.
