A new configuration of gates will greet bus commuters into Manhattan this fall, part of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's effort to reduce delays and overcrowding as it continues to wrestle with how to replace or revamp its outdated and much-maligned bus terminal.
The changes will affect New Jersey Transit and Coach USA, the two largest carriers among the 21 that operate at the 65-year-old Port Authority Bus Terminal. Port Authority chairman John Degnan said during Thursday's monthly board meeting that most New Jersey Transit gates would be consolidated on the third floor and most Coach USA gates would be consolidated in an area on the fourth floor.
The changes are aimed at improving bus operations and reducing congestion in the terminal that can stretch back out into the inbound Lincoln Tunnel and beyond.
The new configuration is scheduled for launch in early September, Degnan said.
The Port Authority, which also operates New York-area bridges, tunnels, ports, airports and the World Trade Center, has been the target of mounting criticism over the last 18 months over the state of the bus terminal, the busiest in the country with well over 200,000 riders passing through daily.
Money for a new terminal, which would cost billions of dollars and take at least a decade to complete, was not included in the agency's 10-year, $28 billion capital plan announced last year. Earlier this year, a group of proposals to build a new terminal was panned by Port Authority commissioners as too expensive or not feasible.
Lacking a coherent long-term plan, the agency instead has focused on incremental improvements such as fixing ceilings, improving cellphone service, making cleaner restrooms and adding street-level bus gates.
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The gate realignment announced Thursday continues efforts begun last fall to streamline bus operations to reduce congestion in the terminal. Consolidating NJ Transit's and Coach USA's buses will allow better movement of buses on the third and fourth floors, said Diannae Ehler, general manager of the terminal and Lincoln Tunnel. Ehler also said NJ Transit will be adding gates so it can move some operations from gates that currently are overcrowded.
"It gives them better command and control on that floor, and better utilization of their own resources," she said.
NJ Transit spokeswoman Nancy Snyder said having most of the agency's buses in one area would reduce delays caused by other carriers, and reduce congestion for commuters on the platforms.
An emailed statement from Coach USA expressed support for the changes.
