QUIGLEY/PRIETO/WISNIEWSKI BILL TO PROVIDE PUBLIC NOTICE BEFORE BUS, TRAIN SERVICE DISCONTINUED RELEASED

(TRENTON) - Legislation Assembly members Joan M. Quigley, Vincent Prieto, and John S. Wisniewski sponsored to require public and private operators of bus and train services to give 45-days notice before eliminating routes was released today by an Assembly panel.

"Stranding commuters and residents who rely on mass transit is unconscionable," said Quigley (D-Hudson).  "Public entities and private companies that provide mass transit services must give fair notice to passengers that they are altering or cancelling routes."

The sponsors introduced the measure in response to a February 2006 incident in Jersey City, in which a bus company abruptly canceled all service for its Central Avenue route.  Hundreds of commuters, shoppers, and senior citizens were left with no idea where their buses were or if they were coming.  It was only later discovered that the company providing the buses had decided to cancel the Central Avenue route.

Nothing in current law requires public or private transit companies to notify the public in advance when canceling or curtailing services.

The legislation (A-333) would require transit operators to give 45-days notice to the clerks of each municipality and to the boards of chosen freeholders of each county affected by a curtailing, discontinuation, or abandonment of a bus or train route.  This notice also would apply to any proposed fare increases and to any change in transit service providers.

Failure to give appropriate notice would be punishable by a $100-a-day penalty, calculated from the time the service changed to when the appropriate 45-day notice should have been given.  These penalties would be assessed on top of any other penalties or fines assessed by state or local officials.

"The public has a right to expect that bus and train service will continue uninterrupted and, if not, that they will receive adequate notice of any changes," said Prieto (D-Hudson), a member of the Assembly Transportation, Public Works and Independent Authorities Committee.  "In Jersey City, a new contract was re-negotiated between the city and the bus service provider, but during the intervening period people were left without a viable means of mass transit."

"Our efforts to encourage mass transit use in New Jersey will be for naught if providers are allowed to continue to alter or cancel service without informing riders," said Wisniewski (D-Middlesex), chairman of the panel.  "Successfully reducing congestion and improving our state transportation network depends, in part, on the cooperation of mass transit providers."

The Assembly Transportation, Public Works and Independent Authorities Committee unanimously released the measure.  It now heads to the Assembly Speaker, who decides if and when to post it for a floor vote.

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