Full Notification

In response to community feedback and to further enhance service, the City of Hoboken is reinstating the Senior Shuttle and making route and technology adjustments to the Hop network.

Despite much positive feedback, some seniors have expressed concerns, including the difficulty associated with sometimes needing to transfer to a second Hop bus to reach their desired destination. Through a series of community meetings, Councilman David Mello, Chair of the Transportation Subcommittee and 4th Ward Councilman Michael Lenz worked with the Administration and with seniors to discuss and identify solutions to these concerns. As a result, the City will be reinstating the Senior Shuttle route between the hours of 10am and 4pm effective Thursday, August 19th.

“We have high goals for residents, including providing them with the best transit access possible, and we’re willing to try new approaches and take some chances to reach those goals,” said Mayor Dawn Zimmer. “On the other hand, we’re always willing to listen to feedback and make adjustments when necessary, and that’s what we’re doing today.”

In order to accommodate this change, the Red Hop will continue to operate during peak hours — from 7am to 10am and 4pm to 7pm — but will run the Senior Shuttle route from 10am to 4pm. Seniors will continue to ride for free on both the Senior Shuttle and Hop routes. The Blue Hop and Green Hop lines will continue to run as previously scheduled.

“I’m very proud of all the forward-thinking and progressive transportation and parking solutions we’ve instituted this year,” said Councilman Mello. “I believe that if we never institute a plan that requires some revision, we’re likely not pushing ourselves hard enough as a city.”

“This Administration is willing to try new things,” said Councilman Lenz. “Mostly it works, and sometimes it doesn’t, and when it doesn’t they listen and fix it.”

The response to the Hop has been extremely positive. In order to meet the strong and growing demand for public transportation, the City is exploring acquiring additional buses in order to run all three Hop lines uninterrupted, lengthen the hours of the Senior Shuttle, and improve reliability and consistency in the case that a bus needs repairs. Based on ridership trends, it is anticipated that adding additional buses to the Hop system would be cost-effective for the City.

The live location of the Hop shuttles can be tracked online and via text messaging. In addition, the City is continuing to implement state-of-the-art technology to enhance the Hop service. An LCD has been installed in the Multi Service Center which displays the route maps and the live current locations of the shuttles via GPS technology. The City is exploring installing electronic signs at other locations, including the PATH station, to notify riders when the next bus will arrive.

Updated route maps and time schedules can be viewed and downloaded on the Hop website, http://hobokennj.org/thehop.