As part of a concerted effort to mitigate traffic, help solve some parking issues, and perhaps eventually fuse services with other area shuttle systems, Princeton Borough this week has moved a step closer to finalizing plans for a community jitney service. And while the service is likely to eventually extend its reach, the key for now is simplicity, according to officials who were involved in a jitney presentation Tuesday at Borough Hall.
Benefiting from a three-year partial subsidy from New Jersey Transit, and free for riders, the $150,000 jitney would operate in 20-minute intervals in a loop around Princeton Borough, hitting points along Nassau and Wiggins streets, as well as the Dinky Station. The goal is to relieve traffic on busy Borough streets while catering to commuter needs, said Borough administrator Robert Bruschi, who presented the jitney concept to members of the circulation subcommittee of the Regional Planning Board of Princeton, as well as representatives from Princeton Regional Schools, Princeton University, Rider University, and Princeton HealthCare System.
Between New Jersey Transit's interest, and without the immediate benefit of a potential partnership with a third party manager, the Borough would still need to finance approximately $120,000 for the first year, with that number increasing $10,000 per year for the duration of the three-year New Jersey Transit commitment, in order to keep the system running, Mr. Bruschi said. Conceding that there was "not a lot of money out there" to offer financial support to such a system, he stressed that the no-rider-fee option is crucial to gaining ridership, potentially allowing the system to grow to a point that could eventually service the Princeton Shopping Center and the University Medical Center at Princeton, either in its current location or its future Plainsboro site.
"If you can't get a shuttle to work as a free shuttle, you'll never get it to work," Mr. Bruschi said.
No launch date is set, though Mr. Bruschi indicated that the program, which would operate Monday through Friday, from 5:45 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., and on Saturday, from 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., could be operational this year, once information had been mailed to all Borough residents, as part of a general educational phase of the project.
There will be money to provide a launching pad for municipal support for the jitney in the 2007 Borough budget, which is likely to be introduced in the coming weeks. That municipal backing will be a necessity, Mr. Bruschi said, as the New Jersey Transit grant was predicated on getting financial backing from "somewhere.
"I don't see us doing a successful shuttle program without getting some municipal support," he said.
Princeton University is currently reevaluating its on-campus shuttle system, according to Robert Durkee, vice president and secretary of Princeton University, who indicated that while there would be no immediate merging of the two systems, the Borough's proposal was encouraging both from an institutional standpoint and from a traffic circulation perspective.
"This is all very exciting for us," he said, noting that the Borough jitney would be relevant to the campus program; however, he stopped short of elaborating on the revamped PU system. He also "strongly endorsed" enhanced signage at the Dinky.
Wendy Benchley, a Borough Councilwoman and Planning Board member who has been a staunch advocate for a jitney system, said that while the University and Borough systems would have to exist independently of each other in the short term, she urged planners to consider merging the two in the future.
"We're going to need to see town and gown working together on a jitney. If we're going to go to an aggressive jitney system, then that's all the more reason to connect the two," she said.
Mr. Durkee said a partnership would depend on several unknown factors, including the location of a new on-campus garage, possibly near Ivy Lane and Western Way, and the possible relocation of some current on-campus administrative services to West Windsor, which would add another shuttle to the operation, subsequently removing substantial cars out of town.
Pam Hersh, vice president for Government and Community Affairs at Princeton HealthCare System, said that the shuttle could route to outer points like the hospital and the shopping center, raising the possibility of including one of the hospital shuttles into the Borough jitney fleet. Mr. Bruschi said that the hospital was considered for this particular route, but was ultimately eliminated, mainly due to the necessary additional routes needed if a shuttle were to head that far north.
Planning Board member Marvin Reed said that while the current 20-minute route is not particularly expansive, "we have to recognize that this route is a base, and when the hospital relocates, there will inevitably be an improvement in other systems." He added that if this route is successful, additional lines could result, and eventually interconnect.
Yina Moore, chairperson of the circulation subcommittee agreed: "This is not the end all, be all. One thing about transportation is that it's not a single point issue."