Federally-funded program created by Congressman Pascrell
will take residents to and from train station, ease commute

MONTCLAIR - Standing at the first stop on the route of Montclair's new Community Shuttle service, U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-N.J., 8th), Mayor Bob Russo, and local officials formally announced and outlined the Township's new Jitney bus service that will take residents to and from mass transit.

The innovative federally-funded Community Shuttle program was created by Pascrell, a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, when he included legislative language in the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century.    The program is administered by New Jersey Transit, and Montclair is one of 34 municipalities and 4 counties throughout the state that were awarded a bus during the program's two rounds of awards.

"I have said repeatedly that our transportation system is not just about improving our highways and bridges, but about improving the quality of life in our communities, " Pascrell stated.  "This new shuttle bus is an example of that approach, as it will ease the commute for Montclair residents and get cars of the road."

"In New Jersey, we have no alternative but to expand the access to - and use of - mass transportation. The Community Shuttle program compliments 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."

Pascrell worked to secure $3.5 million in federal funding in 1998 for the Community Shuttle Program through TEA-21, the federal Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century.  Soon after helping the Township of Maplewood secure new vehicles for its existing jitney service in 1998, he began the effort in Washington to include funding in TEA-21, the successor to ISTEA, the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act.

"Because of limited parking availability on our system, the Community Shuttle program provides us with another way to improve access to our bus and rail service," said NJ TRANSIT Executive Director George Warrington. "With the assistance of Congressmen Bill Pascrell and Donald Payne, our Montclair customers now have another travel option traveling to and from their train station on the Montclair-Boonton Line."

In addition to Montclair, seventeen municipalities and two counties were awarded buses in round two.  Sixteen Garden State municipalities and two county entities had previously been awarded jitney busses in round one. The communities all applied to the program through New Jersey Transit and were selected as part of a competitive process.

The other recipients include: Maplewood, South Orange (two vehicles), Clifton, Orange, Rutherford, Secaucus, Rahway, Edison, Hackensack, Marlboro, Metuchen, New Brunswick, North Plainfield, Old Bridge, Red Bank, Atlantic County Division of Intergenerational Services, Camden County Improvement Authority, West Orange, Glen Ridge, Carlstadt, Fairlawn, Hoboken, North Arlington, Cranford, Edison, Fanwood/Scotch Plains, Fort Lee, Franklin Township, Hamilton, Middletown, Old Tappan, Red Bank, Roselle Park, Weehawken, Westfield, Burlington County(2), and Ocean County(2). 

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