Two-cycle bike racks are now in place on all NJ Transit urban and suburban transit buses in southern New Jersey. The 262 buses involved represent a little over 20% of the agency's total transit bus fleet. The larger "Cruiser" buses that make up roughly 45% of the total fleet already offer space for bike storage in the under-floor carrying bay.

A vocal supporter of cycling, Governor Christie Whitman inaugurated NJTransit's pilot "Rack & Roll" program on Thursday with a bus to bike ride down the Burlington City Promenade Trail. In 1998, the Governor pledged to build 2,000 bike over the following twelve years. She announced at last week's event that 500 miles should be completed by the end of her tenure in 2001, while 300 more by then will be in the works. The Legislature also included a commitment to building 1,000 miles of bicycle lanes over the upcoming five years as a DOT directive in the Transportation Trust Fund renewal bill (see front page).

An NJ Transit spokesperson told the Campaign that the southern-based pilot program would run until September at which time the agency will review its success. If the needed capital funding is made available, NJTransit will put racks on all transit buses across the state According to NJT, more than 1,000 bus riders have already used the bicycle racks which were tested this Spring along selected routes in the Delaware Valley with no accidents or negative reports (MTR #261). Bicycle advocates and users are encouraged to send comments about the program.

Bus routes part of the pilot program include Rt. 409 between Trenton and Philadelphia, Rt., 507 between Atlantic City and Ocean City, Rt. 600 between Trenton and Plainsboro, and Rt. 603 between the Mercer and Quaker Bridge Malls in Mercer County.