Unveiled Princeton Loop Express offers free rides from Shopping Center to Dinky

On Friday, a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrated the official launch of the Princeton Loop Bus services, which was branded in January with a bright green, frog theme and the slogan, “Hop on. It’s free.” 

The new Loop Express route provides free municipal service for the public from Princeton Shopping Center to Princeton Station. Operating on a continuous 20-minute loop, the 14-seat minibus provides service from 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The Loop Express is live and can be tracked on TripShot, a transportation platform, and is accessible at princetonloop.com.

The route of the old municipal bus, freeB, which offers more extensive services than the new Loop Express, has been renamed the Loop Local and continues to run as well. 

At 3:30 p.m. on Friday, roughly 50 people gathered for the launch event at the Princeton Shopping Center, which included celebratory remarks and ribbon- and cake-cutting. Officials and residents then participated in the inaugural ride around on the Loop Express. 

At the start of the event, Princeton Councilwoman Mia Sacks thanked the University. “It’s been a wonderful partnership between the University and the town to work on coordinating transit,” she said. 

In 2024, The University committed $1.5 million to support the municipal shuttle service over five years. The annual operating cost of the Loop Express is approximately $300,000, according to Council President Michelle Pirone Lambros. 

The ceremony then featured brief remarks from Pirone Lambros, NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri, Mercer County Executive Dan Benson, and state Senator Andrew Zwicker.

Pirone Lambros emphasized the benefit that the Loop Express would bring for all members of the Princeton community. “We [envisioned] a route that would connect our two major commercial areas to the Dinky. So that’s for commuters, for residents that want to get around and shop. It’s for…everyone that wants to get around town without the hassle.”

Kolluri highlighted the Loop’s potential to strengthen Princeton’s connectivity beyond the town. “The fact that this shuttle is going to go from this shopping center and eventually the Princeton train station, which eventually connects to the Northeast Corridor, so people can go to work in New York and beyond, is exactly what the governor is focused on …We are leading by example.”

According to Zwicker, micro-transit is just the latest example of Princeton leading the way in municipal services. 

“Other towns around this state do watch what Princeton does, and to try to figure out how to do it themselves with whatever their unique circumstances are … the innovation that’s happening here is just tremendous.”

While the town soft-launched the Loop Express several months ago, Pirone Lambros acknowledged that ridership so far has been moderate.  

Ai Vy Shulman ’29 biked to the Princeton Shopping Center on April 11, unaware of the Loop Express bus. “I would have loved to have taken it if I had known,” she told the ‘Prince.’

Shulman is a former contributing Opinion writer for the ‘Prince.’

The Loop routes operate separately from the popular “Weekend Shopper” TigerTransit line, which is operated by the University rather than the municipality. 

While the Weekend Shopper provides free service to areas south of campus on weekends, the Loop Express will expand access northwards, to businesses including McAffrey’s Market, Walgreens, Ace Hardware, and restaurants including Nomad Pizza, Wonder Pho, and Bagel Nook.

“I take the Weekend Shopper sometimes. I think it’s pretty convenient,” Alice Hou ’26 told the ‘Prince.’ Hou had not heard of the Loop Express bus. 

Aidan Iacobucci ’26 frequently uses the Weekend Shopper to buy groceries. Although he had not heard of the Loop Express bus, he said he would appreciate the option to shop on weekdays. 

“I’m not someone who operates on a routine … and if I need new things it would be nice to not just have to be like, ‘oh, sure, that will wait till Saturday,’” he told the ‘Prince.’

Iacobucci is a former staff News writer for the ‘Prince.’ 

Max Peel ’27 emphasized the appeal of being connected to the Princeton Shopping Center. 

“I never really went [to the Princeton Shopping Center] because it’s slightly too far to walk … it really isn’t that far, but it’s just because of the nature of how the infrastructure is set up,” Peele told the ‘Prince.’

Sophia Hopper is a News contributor for the ‘Prince’ interested in town and faculty coverage, graduate student, and alumni coverage. She is from Raleigh, N.C. and can be reached at sh1943[at]princeton.edu.

Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.