Lakewood Terminal is a regional bus terminal owned and operated by NJ Transit (NJT)[1] at 1st & Lexington Avenues in Lakewood, New Jersey.[2] Bus service includes routes to Atlantic City, Hudson County, New York, Philadelphia, and points at the Jersey Shore, including those of the Ocean County bus network, Ocean Ride. It is situated near the intersection of Route 88 and U.S. Route 9, a busy commuter corridor and the former Central Railroad of New Jersey right-of-way, where the MOM rail line may eventually travel. There are 92 parking spaces available at the bus station.[3]

Service

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Route Terminal Terminal Via Notes
Ocean Ride 4[4] Lakewood Bus Terminal Point Pleasant Beach
Route 88
Brick
Ocean Ride is a county wide system with 12 regular routes, many serving Ocean County Mall, which acts as transfer hub.[5][6]
Connection to North Jersey Coast Line at Point Pleasant Beach
Rte9 Wall Street
peak service only

AM
----

PM
Lakewood Bus Terminal Lower Manhattan Route 9
Holland Tunnel
Manhattan stops in vicinity of Wall Street/World Trade Center
Departures at Battery Park and Church Street[7]
63
peak service only

AM
----

PM
Lakewood Bus Terminal Lincoln Harbor
(Weehawken)
U.S. Route 9
Hoboken Terminal
Non-stop between Gordons Corner Park & Ride and Old Bridge Park & Ride
connections to PATH at Hoboken
64
peak service only

AM
----

PM
Lakewood Bus Terminal Lincoln Harbor
(Weehawken)
U.S. Route 9
Hoboken Terminal
First northbound stop/last southbound stop at
Old Bridge Park & Ride
67 Archived 2020-01-16 at the Wayback Machine
Toms River
Park and Ride
Newark Penn Station Route 549
U.S. Route 9
Newark
130
132
136
139

Lakewood Bus Terminal Port Authority Bus Terminal U.S. Route 9 Some PM Peak Period service is signed as Routes 130, 132, and 136 to indicate Peak Period stopping patterns along Route 9. Some Peak Period trips may be operated using Academy-branded equipment.
137
peak service only

AM
----

PM
Lakewood Bus Terminal Port Authority Bus Terminal U.S. Route 9
County Line Road
Garden State Parkway
Peak Period express service via Brick Park & Rides.
317 Philadelphia Greyhound Terminal Asbury Park Camden
Routes 38, 530, 528, 88, and 71
No express service
559 Lakewood Bus Terminal Atlantic City Bus Terminal U.S. Route 9 Express service at Toms River on 319 Archived 2018-04-13 at the Wayback Machine

History

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Lakewood in the late 19th and early 20th century was a winter resort.[8][9] Train service by what became New Jersey Southern Railroad began in 1860. Between 1929 and 1941 it was served by CNJ's deluxe Blue Comet service. Weekday passenger service ended in 1952 and weekend passenger service in 1957.[10]

The Lincoln Bus Terminal, as the terminal was originally called, was built in 1950 by Lincoln Stages Bus Company with a bus depot later added.[3] The company, which became Lincoln Transit, ran the Atlantic City-New York route and ceased operations in 1983.[11] The terminal was also used by Greyhound Lines and Public Service Coordinated Transport,[8] the latter of which became Transport of New Jersey and was taken over by New Jersey Transit bus operations (NJT) in 1983. A half-million dollar renovation of the facility by NJT was completed in January 1989.[3]

Express service between New York City and Atlantic City (and points south) now stops at Toms River on NJT 319.[12]

Future

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Northern Ocean County, New Jersey borders both Monmouth and Middlesex and is sometimes considered part of larger Central Jersey region. Lakewood saw major population growth between 1990 and 2020 and is now the 5th largest municipality in the state by population at 135,000. Neighboring Toms River is 8th largest at 95,000.

Route 9 BBS

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U.S. Route 9 is an important transport corridor for the region. A 3-mile (4.83 km) section in Old Bridge currently supports a bus bypass shoulder (BBS) during peak hours, and is one of the earliest examples of bus rapid transit in New Jersey.[13][14] There are plan to extend the BBS an additional 17 miles south to nearby the Lakewood Bus Terminal. A $588 million project for expansion of the 7.2 mile segment of Route 9 in Lakewood and Toms River as of 2011 was in a "design concept" phase and funding is earmarked for 2016–2017 construction.[15] Studies are also being conducted for the middle section of the BBS in the vicinity of Freehold Township.[16][17]

While there was discussion of restoring train service in the 1990s at the time it was decided to add more buses along Route 9.[18] Nonetheless, in the 2000s studies were conducted to explore the possibility of providing rail service to the region. Known as the Monmouth Ocean Middlesex Line (MOM) project various alignments were considered as to where the line would join either the Northeast Corridor Line or the North Jersey Coast Line.[19][20][21][22] In 2010 federal funding of $535,000 was given to support an alternatives analysis.[21] The 2009 Lakewood Smart Growth Plan included a new train station, situated nearby the bus terminal.[23]

Lakewood Multi-Modal Facility

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Lakewood has developed an additional multi-modal facility at the northern end of downtown at 9th Street and Clifton which acts as the hub for the expanding bus network.[24][25]

References

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  1. ^ "ERG Transit Project Definition Bus Terminal List" (PDF). njeda.com. February 26, 2014. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
  2. ^ "New Jersey Transit". njtransit.com. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  3. ^ a b c Blay, Joyce (December 29, 2005). "Bus terminal remains hub of Lakewood transit". Tri-Trown News. Archived from the original on September 10, 2015. Retrieved 2012-05-05.
  4. ^ "Ocean County Government". Co.ocean.nj.us. Archived from the original on 2012-05-10. Retrieved 2012-05-11.
  5. ^ "Ocean Ride". Ocean Ride Transportation Services. Archived from the original on 2017-10-04. Retrieved 2012-05-05.
  6. ^ "Ocean County Transit Map" (PDF). Ocean Ride Transportation Services. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-10-03. Retrieved 2012-05-05.
  7. ^ "Lower Manhattan Pick-up Points". Academy Bus. Archived from the original on 2012-05-11. Retrieved 2012-05-05.
  8. ^ a b "History of Lakewood". Lakewood, New Jersey. Retrieved 2012-05-05.
  9. ^ Wright, George Cable (1963-12-15). "LAKEWOOD'S LURES - New Jersey Resort Appears Assured Of Record Season This Winter New Motels Early Start A Big Weekend". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-05-11.
  10. ^ "The Southern Division Main Line". octrainguy.com. Archived from the original on 2012-06-18. Retrieved 2012-05-05.
  11. ^ "THE REGION; Lincoln Bus Line To Close Friday". The New York Times. Associated Press. February 23, 1983. Retrieved 2014-05-05.
  12. ^ "New Jersey Transit 319 schedule" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 April 2018. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  13. ^ "NJDOT to open Route 9 Bus shoulder lanes in Old Bridge" (Press release). New Jersey Department of Transportation. November 29, 2006. Retrieved 2012-03-03.
  14. ^ Synthesis 64: Bus shoulder lanes. Transportation Research Board of the National Academies. 2007. ISBN 9780309097673.
  15. ^ "FY2012 Project Development Work Program" (PDF). North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority. August 29, 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-21. Retrieved 2012-05-05.
  16. ^ "Route 9" (PDF). NJ Transit Bus Service: The Next Generation. New Jersey Transit. April 26, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-13. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
  17. ^ Luglio, Louis J., PE (2010). "Study area map" (PDF). BRT Planning in Active Corridors Use of Shoulders. Stantec. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-11-04. Retrieved 2012-04-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)l
  18. ^ Chen, David W. (February 18, 1996). "In Brief: More Buses Not Trains for Route 9 Corridor". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-05-05.
  19. ^ "MOM Alternatives (map)". Ocean County. Archived from the original on 2012-03-09. Retrieved 2012-04-04.
  20. ^ "Monmouth-Ocean-Middlesex" Archived 2017-09-23 at the Wayback Machine. New Jersey Transit. Retrieved 2012-05-07.
  21. ^ a b "Federal dollars to fund rail study". News Transcript. 2010-09-01. Archived from the original on 2012-03-23. Retrieved 2012-05-11.
  22. ^ Rosman, Mark (2009-06-03). "Lakehurst to Red Bank is panel's rail selection". News Transcript. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2012-05-11.
  23. ^ T & M Associates (November 2009). "Lakewood Smart Growth Plan" (PDF). Township of Lakewood. Retrieved 2012-05-05.[permanent dead link]
  24. ^ "Lautenberg, Menendez Secure $32.7 Million For Projects Vital to South/Central Jersey" (Press release). July 21, 2006. Archived from the original on March 4, 2010. Retrieved 2012-05-05.
  25. ^ "Lautenberg, Menendez Announce More Than $2.9 Million For South Jersey Bus Improvements" (Press release). September 26, 2008. Retrieved 2012-05-05.
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40°05′29″N 74°12′43″W / 40.09145°N 74.21207°W / 40.09145; -74.21207