Shuttle program sees low ridership

The Free B was established last spring with the goal of reducing rush-hour traffic in Princeton Borough by providing free public transit throughout the downtown area and the Dinky Station. The jitney has seen usage increase by about 100 passengers per month, topping off at 500 riders in August.

“Up to this point, ridership has been very low,” Borough Council member Andrew Koontz said, adding that the service “wasn’t anything like what you would call an immediate success.”

Two years ago, New Jersey Transit (NJT) promised the Borough a vehicle and three years of steadily decreasing funding to start a jitney program. The Borough will gradually absorb the financial burden.

The University provided $60,000 to the Borough in April after the delivery of an NJT-funded vehicle was delayed, Director of Community and Regional Affairs Kristin Appelget said in an e-mail.

“For a long time, we have talked about the idea of having this kind of jitney, and what they said is they would really like to get started and have a pilot period, and we were willing to help them do that,” University Vice President and Secretary Bob Durkee ’69 said.

While the University provided funding for the pilot program, it is not involved in the administration of the shuttle. There are no plans for the University to have any direct involvement once the NJT vehicle and funding come through, Appelget said.

The University is, however, planning to revamp its own shuttle system in January 2009, providing more stops and expanded service. Appelget said that the University will take steps to coordinate campus, community and state public transportation services.

Borough Administrator Bob Bruschi confirmed that the Borough is in the process of finishing up paperwork and said he expects the arrival of the permanent vehicle from NJT within the next 30 days.

Improving the jitney

Both Koontz and Durkee said that a potential reason for the low passenger numbers was the minimal amount of publicity given to the program.

Bruschi cited the tentative nature of the pilot program as a reason for the limited publicity, adding that the Borough has plans to expand advertising efforts once the permanent vehicle arrives.

“We’re [beginning to advertise] now that everyone’s back and focused around being back in Princeton,” Bruschi said.

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The Borough will distribute surveys to current riders of the jitney and to those who have chosen not to use the service to explore ways to improve the service’s appeal to residents.

Both Bruschi and Durkee said that the general response to the Free B has been positive. The main complaint about the program is that the shuttle only operates for four hours in the morning and four in the evening, while there are groups aside from commuters who would make use of the service during other hours.

Koontz said, however, that NJT would not benefit from facilitating community transportation to non-commuters.

“It’s the same as any other mass transit service. New Jersey Transit would not run a service to take people around shopping,” he said.

Koontz also explained that people who drive their cars to the Dinky Station or to Princeton Junction will continue to do so regardless of new alternatives.

“If it’s not providing adequate service for commuters, it becomes more difficult to justify having it,” he said.

Free B and the Arts Neighborhood

Though Appelget cited the University’s continued commitment to programs like the Free B that improve community sustainability, the service also comes at a time of tension between the Borough and the University over the planned relocation of the Dinky Station to make way for the proposed Arts and Transit Neighborhood.

While Koontz said he is uncertain about the success of the jitney service, he added that, regardless of its future, it is not an adequate solution to the possible relocation of the Dinky Station.

Koontz said that the relocation of the Dinky would limit the freedom of those who prefer to walk to the station.

“If a person wants a nice healthy walk, just so long as it isn’t too far to walk, then more power to them,” he said. “It’s difficult to say they should get on the bus.”