bus terminal
A bus station or a bus interchange is a structure where city or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. While the term bus depot can also be used to refer to a bus station, it generally refers to a bus garage. A bus station is l ...
owned and operated by
NJ Transit
New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...
(NJT) at 1st & Lexington Avenues in
Lakewood, New Jersey
Lakewood Township is the most populous township in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A rapidly growing community as of the 2020 U.S. census, the township had a total population of 135,158 representing an increase of 41,415 (+45.5% ...
. Bus service includes routes to
Atlantic City
Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...
,
Hudson County
Hudson County is the most densely populated county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It lies west of the lower Hudson River, which was named for Henry Hudson, the sea captain who explored the area in 1609. Part of New Jersey's Gateway Region in ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
,
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, and points at the
Jersey Shore
The Jersey Shore (known by locals simply as the Shore) is the coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Geographically, the term encompasses about of oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy in the north to Cape May Po ...
, including those of the
Ocean County
Ocean County is a county located along the Jersey Shore in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It borders the Atlantic Ocean on the east. Its county seat is Toms River.Route 88 and
U.S. Route 9
U.S. Route 9 (US 9) is a north–south United States highway in the states of Delaware, New Jersey, and New York in the Northeastern United States. It is one of only two U.S. Highways with a ferry connection (the Cape May–Lewes Ferry, between ...
, a busy commuter corridor and the former
Central Railroad of New Jersey
The Central Railroad of New Jersey, also known as the Jersey Central or Jersey Central Lines , was a Class I railroad with origins in the 1830s. It was absorbed into Conrail in April 1976 along with several other prominent bankrupt railroads of ...
right-of-way
Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another.
A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...
, where the MOM rail line may eventually travel. There are 92 parking spaces available at the bus station.
Service
History
Lakewood in the late 19th and early 20th century was a winter resort. Train service by what became
New Jersey Southern Railroad
New Jersey Southern RR and connections
The New Jersey Southern Railroad was a railroad that started in 1854. It would continue under this name until the 1870s as a separate company and the lines that it had constructed or run continued to be run i ...
began in 1860. Between 1929 and 1941 it was served by CNJ's deluxe
Blue Comet
The ''Blue Comet'' was a named passenger train operated by Central Railroad of New Jersey from 1929 to 1941 between the New York metropolitan area and Atlantic City.
Designed by Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ) president R.B. White in 19 ...
service. Weekday passenger service ended in 1952 and weekend passenger service in 1957.
The Lincoln Bus Terminal, as the terminal was originally called, was built in 1950 by Lincoln Stages Bus Company with a
bus depot
A bus garage, also known as a bus depot, bus base or bus barn, is a facility where buses are stored and maintained. In many conurbations, bus garages are on the site of former car barns or tram sheds, where trams (streetcars) were stored, and ...
later added. The company, which became Lincoln Transit, ran the Atlantic City-New York route and ceased operations in 1983. The terminal was also used by
Greyhound Lines
Greyhound Lines, Inc. (commonly known as simply Greyhound) operates the largest intercity bus service in North America, including Greyhound Mexico. It also operates charter bus services, Amtrak Thruway services, commuter bus services, and pac ...
and
Public Service Coordinated Transport
Transport of New Jersey (TNJ), earlier Public Service Transportation and then Public Service Coordinated Transport, was a street railway and bus company in the U.S. state of New Jersey from 1917 to 1980, when NJ Transit took over their operations ...
, the latter of which became Transport of New Jersey and was taken over by
New Jersey Transit bus operations
NJ Transit Bus Operations is the bus division of NJ Transit, providing bus service throughout New Jersey along with service along one light rail line, with many routes going to New York City and Philadelphia. In , the bus system had a ridership ...
(NJT) in 1983. A half-million dollar renovation of the facility by NJT was completed in January 1989.
Express service between
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and
Atlantic City
Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...
Ocean County, New Jersey
Ocean County is a county located along the Jersey Shore in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It borders the Atlantic Ocean on the east. Its county seat is Toms River.Monmouth
Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...
and
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
and is sometimes considered part of larger
Central Jersey
Central Jersey is the central region of the U.S. state of New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, ...
U.S. Route 9
U.S. Route 9 (US 9) is a north–south United States highway in the states of Delaware, New Jersey, and New York in the Northeastern United States. It is one of only two U.S. Highways with a ferry connection (the Cape May–Lewes Ferry, between ...
is an important
transport corridor
A transport corridor is a generally linear area that is defined by one or more modes of transportation crossing the limits of more than one city or county like highways, railroads or public transit which share a common destination. Development of ...
for the region. A section in Old Bridge currently supports a bus bypass shoulder (BBS) during peak hours, and is one of the earliest examples of
bus rapid transit in New Jersey
Bus rapid transit in New Jersey comprises limited-stop bus service, exclusive bus lanes (XBL) and bus bypass shoulders (BBS). Under the banner ''Next Generation Bus'' New Jersey Transit (NJT), the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT), ...
. There are plan to extend the BBS
an additional 17 miles south to nearby the Lakewood Bus Terminal. A $588 million project for expansion of the 7.2 mile segment of Route 9 in Lakewood and Toms River as of 2011 was in a "design concept" phase and funding is earmarked for 2016–2017 construction. Studies are also being conducted for the middle section of the BBS in the vicinity of Freehold Township.
MOM
While there was discussion of restoring train service in the 1990s at the time it was decided to add more buses along Route 9. Nonetheless, in the 2000s studies were conducted to explore the possibility of providing rail service to the region. Known as the
Monmouth Ocean Middlesex Line
The Monmouth Ocean Middlesex Line (MOM) is a passenger rail project in the US state of New Jersey, proposed by NJ Transit Rail Operations (NJT) to serve the Central New Jersey counties of Monmouth, Ocean, and Middlesex. The line would originate/t ...
(MOM) project various alignments were considered as to where the line would join either the
Northeast Corridor Line
The Northeast Corridor Line is a commuter rail service operated by NJ Transit between the Trenton Transit Center and New York Penn Station on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor in the United States. The service is the successor to Pennsylvania Railroad ...
or the
North Jersey Coast Line
The North Jersey Coast Line is a commuter rail
Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or com ...
. In 2010 federal funding of $535,000 was given to support an alternatives analysis. The 2009 ''Lakewood Smart Growth Plan'' included a new train station, situated nearby the bus terminal.
Lakewood Multi-Modal Facility
Lakewood has developed an additional multi-modal facility at the northern end of downtown at 9th Street and Clifton which acts as the hub for the expanding bus network.