By Donald Gilpin

The goal is an improved municipal free bus service in Princeton — a service that gets people where they want to go when they want to go there more effectively than the current 14-passenger cutaway minibus system that runs Monday to Saturday, every 80 minutes from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Following more than a year of collecting feedback from the community on possible improvements for Princeton Municipal Transit, the town’s Engineering Department, with assistance from Nelson/Nygaard transportation consultants, presented its report and recommendations for upgrades at last week’s Princeton Council meeting. In the coming weeks Council will be considering various options.

In addition to meeting the needs of Princeton residents, visitors, employees of local businesses, and others, an enhanced municipal bus service would attract more riders and help to alleviate traffic and parking problems.

“There is a bunch of positive impacts in taking motor vehicles off the roads and having an effective mass transit system,” said Princeton Assistant Municipal Engineer Jim Purcell. “It’s good for the environment. It’s good to reduce traffic congestion, and it’s good for our roads, because with less traffic we can go longer without replacing them.”

Councilwoman Michelle Pirone Lambros is eager to move forward with upgrades to the current bus service and increasing the current user base, which is growing slowly and now sees about 89 riders each week, about seven boardings per hour, an increase each year over the past few years.

One option would involve keeping the current routes but adding an additional bus to run between the Princeton Shopping Center, the downtown corridor, and the Dinky station. “One bus isn’t going to solve everything, but it’s a step in the direction of trying to find a solution to traffic — moving people around town without relying on their cars,” said Lambros, also noting the need to serve visitors who come to town on the Dinky, people who go to the Dinky to travel out of town, and people who want to shop or go to restaurants without having to use a car and find a place to park.

Council is working towards a resolution to put out bids for a short-term plan to be implemented this fall, and is ready to adapt its plan to meet the needs of the public. Council will be working with Telos Advisers transportation consultants with an initial meeting this week, Pirone said.

“Whatever route we take can be changed, tweaked,” she explained. “That’s why it’s good to have the professional consultants on board. We can add a stop. We can change the timing, finding how this works to benefit the most people, how it adds the most benefit to the community.”

Lambros also emphasized that collaboration with schools and other community organizations is an important part of the plan, along with marketing and outreach. “Experience Princeton will help us with marketing,” she said. “They’re already helping to create some ideas. Collaboration with community organizations will help us get people to utilize it. We need to make sure people understand the value of this and how to use it.”

According to the report, adding a vehicle to establish two fixed routes would entail an additional cost of $395,160 annually, a total cost to the town per year of $758,000. An option with two fixed routes and just one vehicle would cost approximately $380,164 annually.

Potential funding, the report noted, would include a $1.5 million five-year grant from Princeton University, an $800,000 contribution to the Municipality’s Sustainable Transportation Fund from The Alice and Avalon housing developments, a $75,500 ARPA (America Rescue Plan Act) Grant, a MATIP (Mobility and Transportation Innovation Program) grant for electronic bus stop displays, and additional funding from increased parking revenues.

“Start thinking about how you can use the bus instead of using your car,” Lambros said, adding that Council is eager to hear from members of the community with questions or concerns or about which short-term solution to pursue: no change, two fixed routes with two vehicles, or a program with two fixed routes with one vehicle.

“Mass transit shouldn’t have to pay for itself financially,” Purcell added. “It does pay for itself in other ways. It’s a free bus. Use it.” He went on to note that the municipal bus connects with Princeton University’s Tiger Transit, which is also free to all passengers, and it connects to New Jersey Transit.

The Municipality’s transit study, which included four stakeholder focus groups, 477 survey responses, four pop-up events, and more, noted four “key findings”: there is a desire for more direct and frequent service in Princeton; a clear, consistent source of information about available services would help people use transit more often; Princeton Shopping Center and the Dinky station are top destinations; and weekday travel both during peak times and during the day are important to respondents.

Purcell discussed current plans to provide clear, consistent information for the public, an effort subsidized by the MATIP state-funded, Mercer County-focused grant. The problem, Purcell said, is that most of the current Princeton Transit passengers rely on written schedules, which go out of date rapidly as routes change, stops are added, and departure times are revised to accommodate riders.

“Consultants think of ‘clear and consistent’ as being digital, an app on your phone,” said Purcell, “but a lot of our clients don’t have smart phones and don’t use apps. A lot of them rely on word of mouth.” The solution in the works is “digital bus stops,” digital signs mounted at the bus stops that will tell prospective passengers when the next bus will arrive. The MATIP grant will pay for 10 digital bus stops, including one year of service.

“They will be digitally integrated with Tiger Transit and NJ Transit, and we’re hoping to stream it to residents of communities like Elm Court and The Alice at their front desks, so they’ll have a digital display that will say, ‘Here’s where the Princeton Municipal Transit is now.’”

Princeton Municipal Transit does have an app, called TripShot, and is also on Google, where information about routes and schedules can be found.