PASCRELL'S FEDERALLY FUNDED PROGRAM BRINGS NEW
JITNEYS TO SOUTH ORANGE COMMUNITIES

SOUTH ORANGE - Standing in front of South Orange's new Jitney Community Shuttle Bus at the South Orange Train Station, U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-8) and Mayor William Calabrese, joined NJ Transit Assistant Executive Director Jim Redeker to announce today that 12 New Jersey communities will receive new shuttle buses to ease the commute and traffic for residents in their communities.

The innovative federally-funded Community Shuttle program was created by Pascrell, a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, in 1998 when he included legislative language in the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century.  The program is administered by New Jersey Transit, and South Orange is one of twelve municipalities throughout the state that were awarded a bus during the program's third round of awards.

"In securing funding for the original two rounds of the program, I hoped to set a precedent for bringing the needs of New Jersey communities to the forefront," said U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell. "Now in its third round, the Community Shuttle Program has proven that innovation can go a long way in providing a cost-effective means of easing traffic congestion and improving the daily commute for our residents, as well as the quality of life in so many of our communities."
 
Pascrell recently secured additional federal funds for the Community Shuttle program to continue.  The additional funding came in the highway bill, which reauthorized federal funds to modernize our roads, communities and transit systems, and was signed into law on August 10, 2005.   

"In New Jersey, we have no alternative but to expand the access and use of mass transportation," stated Pascrell.  "The Community Shuttle Program complements our existing mass transit infrastructure.  It will allow people easier access to a cleaner, safer, and more efficient means of getting to and from work, and hopefully give them a few extra minutes at home each day"

In addition to South Orange, ten municipalities and one county will were awarded jitney busses in round this third round.  16 municipalities and two county entities were awarded in round one.  18 municipalities and 2 county entities were awarded in round two.

The other round three recipients include: Bernards, Edison, Irvington, North Bergen (two shuttles), Princeton, Bloomfield, Highland Park, Mercer County TRADE, Nutley, Roselle Park, and West Orange.

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