Patco Admits Little Success So Far in Booking Shuttle Buses During BFB Rail Replacement
By David Madden
CAMDEN, N.J. (CBS) -- Patco, which operates the rail line that crosses the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, is looking at all available options to ease the pain for commuters during the rail replacement project as it moves into the next phase.
The summer will be critical, as trains will be placed on a single track for two months, beginning just after Memorial Day.
At one of the community meetings Patco is holding to give those riders a heads up, someone suggested using shuttle busses as a way to help move people along.
Patco spokeswoman Fran O'Brien says they've been considering that for some time, and they've even broached the topic with New Jersey Transit.
"Our pressing time is rush hour, and that's their pressing time as well, so the number of buses that they could provide us, as a best-case scenario, would be very limited," O'Brien notes.
Patco is also talking with other firms, but stresses that the idea of using shuttle busses across the Ben Franklin Bridge is just that: an idea.
Riders should expect crowded trains and service delays when the single tracking goes into effect.