go bus Impact Study
TRB National Transportation Planning Applications Conference
Atlantic City, May 2015
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Background
In 2008, NJ TRANSIT introduced an
enhanced bus service called go 25 along the
4.8-mile corridor between Newark Penn
Station and Irvington Bus Terminal
In 2009, NJ TRANSIT introduced go 28, which
serves a 12.1-mile corridor connecting
Bloomfield Train Station, downtown Newark,
and Newark Airport
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Branded Buses and Shelters
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Traffic Signal Priority
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Enhanced Interiors
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Additional go bus Features
Frequent service
Extended hours
Fewer stops
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Board in Front, Exit in
Rear
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Project Goals
Identify and understand shifts in travel patterns
and customer satisfaction
Understand how the enhanced service affects
customers’ perceptions of time savings
Identify which features of go bus service
customers value the most
Understand the characteristics of customers
utilizing go bus services and how they
compare to our traditional local bus markets
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Methodology Overview
Literature Review
Onboard Survey
Focus Groups
Web-based Maximum
Difference Scaling
(MaxDiff) Survey
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Methodology: Onboard Survey
 Surveys were administered onboard go 25 and
go 28, as well as on parallel local routes 25,
11, 28, and 72
 All inbound and outbound trips btwn 6AM-3PM
 Response rate of 19%
 Surveys were weighted by route, time of day,
and direction using ridership counts from the
farebox
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go bus Customers Perceive Greater
Time Savings Than Exist
go 25 - 16 min
91%
Yes, I save time
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go 28 - 19 min
85%
Yes, I save time
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go bus Customers Express Higher
Satisfaction
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Condition of Wkdy Peak
Shelter
Bus Freq
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Wkdy OffPeak Bus
Freq
Local Bus
Info about
On-time
Trip Time
the Bus Performance
go bus
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Overall
Satisfaction
go bus Attracts More “Choice” Riders
go bus
local bus
16%
25%
8%
23%
61%
No Other Way
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67%
Best Choice
Occasional Use
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go bus Provides Crucial Links to
Employment Centers
 Nearly 8 in 10 go bus customers were
traveling to or from work
 About 25% of go 25 customers transfer to or
from the PATH train at Newark Penn Station
<10% of local route 25 customers do the
same
 Approximately 64% of go 28 customers were
traveling to or from Newark Liberty
International Airport for work
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Methodology: Focus Groups
 7 focus groups held at NJ TRANSIT
Headquarters with go bus and local bus
customers
 Midway through each group, participants were
asked to complete a web-based MaxDiff
survey, which involved ranking 24 attributes of
service through a series of exercises
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go bus Branding Raises its Visibility
 Easier to identify
bus stop locations
 Customers can see
go bus coming
 Shelters seem
cleaner, better
maintained
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Customers Like Enhanced Interiors
 go buses seem
cleaner and more
comfortable
 Customers enjoy
features like
overhead lighting,
high-back seats,
and luggage racks
on go 28
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More Education Needed about “Exit
from Rear” Policy
 Customers agree that entering through the
front and exiting through the back is effective
at speeding trip times
 However, policy is not always enforced and
can actually slow things down when a rider is
unaware of the rule
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Customers Unaware of Signal Priority
 Customers were
unaware of the
traffic signal priority
 However, did notice
that the bus
seemed to move
faster down
Bloomfield Ave
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Methodology: MaxDiff Scaling
 Determines the magnitude by which certain
attributes are valued in comparison to others
by forcing respondents to make trade-offs
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Travel and Frequency Valued Twice
as High as Branding Attributes
Top 5 Rated Attributes
go bus makes fewer stops than the
regular bus route.
100
Using go bus takes 10 minutes less
travel time than the local bus.
90
Buses arrive every 10 mins in the
peak and every 20 mins all day.
85
Buses arrive every 15 mins in the
peak and every 30 mins all day.
go bus has deluxe seats, hand holds,
baggage racks, lighting.
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Branding and Fare Payment Options
Rank Lower in Importance
Bottom 5 Rated Attributes
Bus is identifiable with a well-known
name, “go bus.”
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go bus stops have nicer shelters than
regular bus routes.
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A regular bus costs 25 cents less
than the go bus.
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Fare payment for go bus is available
by tapping your cell phone.
go bus drivers have a unique uniform
that is easily identifiable.
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Conclusions
 Travel time, frequency of service &
convenience are most valued
 Perceived time savings were greater than
actual time savings on go bus
 While less valued by customers, branding and
visibility play a large role in garnering interest
and awareness about the go bus
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Conclusions
 go 25 and go 28 customers report higher
customer satisfaction
 go 25 and go 28 took some cars off the road
 Opportunities exist to use go bus service to
improve trans-Hudson travel
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