Committeewoman Jahn at the Friday morning inauguration of this year’s shuttle. Photo courtesy Neptune Township
By Charles Layton
The EZ Ride shuttle bus service returned to Ocean Grove on Friday, with a new route that includes the Asbury Park train station. As it did last summer, the service is also making stops in Bradley Beach.
The shuttle service, which runs from now through September 3, is intended to relieve traffic congestion and parking problems in the beach towns it serves, providing a way for visitors arriving by train to go directly to the beaches and adjacent shopping areas. “The jitney will provide transportation not only from train and bus stations but also spots along the route in neighboring Asbury Park and Bradley Beach,” said Committeewoman Mary Beth Jahn, who helped organize and initiate the project. “It will allow our residents and guests easy access to shops and restaurants without having to use their cars.”
The hours of operation are 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays through Sundays, and the price is $1 per ride.
Last year, the shuttle service was underutilized, but it is hoped that Asbury Park’s participation this year will bring increased ridership.
Most of the money for the service — 75 per cent of it — comes from a federal grant under the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program. The participating towns will pick up the rest of the expense. For Neptune Township that will come to $5,000, Jahn said.
On Thursday, the Township Committee authorized an agreement with Meadowlink, a company based in Wood Ridge that operates shuttles in six New Jersey counties. Last year, the participating shore towns in Monmouth County included Belmar. This year Belmar is out but Long Branch has joined in.
The map below shows the shuttle route that serves Ocean Grove. The bus repeats its route every 30 minutes.
@Disgusted, Odd rant. But others already voiced my objections to your, well, *objections.*
@Independent Voter, I think Mary Beth has been very visible for the past few years (the amount of time I’ve been coming to Blogfinger.)
Love the idea of hopping the shuttle to check out our neighboring towns.
I think the shuttle is a great idea as it will keep cars off the roads and alleviate parking. The only problem here is that Mary Beth is here for this spot. If she was not in an election, there would be no picture. How many openings and ribbon cuttings has she attended the past 2 years after she was Mayor. Every picture the last 2 years had Randy and Eric in them and the other theee were usually missing. The Coaster pictures every week do not lie. Photoshot and free advertisement for her campaign is all it is. Did she take a picture last year? If she did please post it and I will apologize
I think its great. I wouldn’t mind paying a dollar to catch a ride, it would be so much easier than driving around looking for a new parking spot!
@Disgusted…
Those “out of towners” provide business to local restaurants, etc., putting local people to work and helping local businesses pay their taxes.
If no tourists, businesses/B&B’s/etc. close up and stop paying taxes to the town which will certainly INCREASE your taxes.
Fantastic! I can’t tell you how many nights I feared getting off the train in AP! I wish this ran all year!
To Disgusted: I don’t understand your complaint. This service will bring visitors to our town, with dollars to spend, and withOUT their cars. Seems like a great idea.
And, as I commute to/from NYC every day from the Asbury station, it will be a nice treat on hot Friday nights to get a ride to the Grove, rather than walking.
And on weekends, we can ride to Asbury and Bradley to experiment with their restaurants,without moving our cars!
Well done Neptune!
Sure! Why not! Let’s crowd out the residents so they can’t even enjoy their own TAX-PAID-FOR space! No consideration is given at all to the residents. These shuttlers get the benefit of OUR shore towns, but don’t pay taxes on the property. And, they congest the residents’ space.