Burlington County’s free shuttle bus will finally hit the road next week
The new route will officially start service on Sept. 21, the last of six new shuttle lines launched over the summer as part of SJ Connects.
Some Burlington County residents might see an unfamiliar blue shuttle bus on the roads next week as the region welcomes its first new public transit option in more than two decades.
The new route will officially start service on Sept. 21, the last of six new shuttle lines that form SJ Connects, a free bus service run by the South Jersey Transportation Authority (SJTA). The first five lines were launched on June 1 while the transportation authority worked to get formal authorization to operate in the county.
Together, the shuttles can take riders from Cape May Court House to as far north as Palmyra with connections to other shuttles, SJTA routes, NJ Transit lines, and more sprinkled throughout.
Though the newest route is called the Burlington County Shuttle, it technically begins over the Camden County line at the Pennsauken Transit Center before concluding 10 stops later at Twosome Drive and Church Street in Moorestown.
Along the new route, up to 20 riders per bus can hop on or off at various locations including the Cinnaminson ShopRite, Fox Meadow Apartments in Maple Shade, or at Cooper University Healthcare’s Moorestown Mall location.
SJ Connects received $5 million in state funding from former Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration for an 18- to 24-month trial run to boost transit services in the region.
The investment was secured in part thanks to the efforts of state Sen. Troy Singleton, a longtime Burlington County resident who called the county “the crown jewel of South Jersey.”
“Burlington County is the largest county by land mass here in New Jersey and being able to connect what was a lot of former farmland to economic and educational opportunities is critically important,” Singleton said during a ride-along of the new route Monday.
“We know that there’s enormous economic opportunity here in South Jersey as it connects to Philadelphia and connects to other parts of New Jersey so continuing that investment is one of my responsibilities that I take really personal,” he said.
Many of the stops along the SJ Connects routes were chosen to help South Jersey residents travel between medical centers, educational institutions, and other areas of interest, said Stephen Dougherty, SJTA’s executive director.
The half-dozen routes include stops at multiple Cooper and Inspira locations in addition to the region’s various community colleges and universities. The routes also have stops located at or near large employers, Dougherty said, including Logan Township’s Pureland Industrial Complex, the second largest industrial park east of the Mississippi River.
“We know that these routes are crucial — based on the nature of what these stops are — to people’s everyday lives,” Dougherty said.
Now that all six of the SJ Connects shuttles are ready for riders, local leaders are simply asking South Jersey residents to hop on for a ride.
The more demand there is for this service in Burlington County, the more likely it will be for legislators to get state funding to keep the rides free and create more routes in the future, Singleton said.
“My hope and my ask of the public is to utilize this free resource — their tax dollars coming to their benefit — in order for us to try and expand it even more,” Singleton said.
Enjoyed this story?
Get more South Jersey news on your homepage with one click.
