November 2009 Commuter Newsletter

East Brunswick Commuter Parking Advisory Committee

November 2009

The Commuter Golden Triangle Litigation: East Brunswick and Toll Brothers continue to litigate the future of the planned Golden Triangle development. Toll is continuing to request that the Township repurchase the property at cost plus accrued interest. Copies of the legal complaints by both parties can be found at http://www.tinyurl.com/ebpdfcoke. At this time we understand that Toll does not plan to make their next payment which is due in December 2009. In addition, Toll continues to receive the rent of the occupied space in the complex from the existing tenant. ServiStop TCC Retail Facility: A new service is now open in the TCC lobby during primary morning and evening commuting hours. These business is operated by Billy Favis and is designed to act as a commuter concierge service. It offers coffee, light snacks, breakfasts and newspapers. In addition, it offer services such as dry cleaning and evening food delivery from selected restaurants. Mr. Favis hopes to expand the services offered over time and to possibly offer a similar service at Neilson Plaza. If you would like to contact him, he can be reached at billyfavis@ servistop.com or 732-501-9356. The CPAC wishes him success with his new endeavor. Reporting Service Issues: The CPAC can not over-emphasize the importance of commuters assisting the Township and CPAC by reporting service issues when you see them. Please let us know at ebcommuter@ yahoo.com so we can make sure that they are appropriately addressed. Many issues in the past have come to our attention only because of the efforts of commuters like yourself. HVAC requirements: Our Township's agreement with Suburban Transit on HVAC is two fold: (1) bus temperatures will be set as much as physically possible to 72 degrees F year round and that (2) the bus air circulation system should be operating at all times. If either rule is not being followed, please report this to Suburban Transit or the CPAC for follow up with sufficient detail (bus number, date, time, etc.) for appropriate action to be taken. PLEASE DO NOT ASK A DRIVER TO VIOLATE THESE POLICIES. If you are cold or warm, put on or take off your coat or move to another part of the bus. Kindly recognize that not every passenger can be satisfied 100% of the time. Thank you for your cooperation. Clever Commute: The CPAC has assisted in the implementation of a commuter operated, real-time commuter information service. The New York Times has had an article discussing this service (you can access it at http://tinyurl.com/ysegzm). This third party operated service permits commuters with SMS capable cell phones or smartphones such as BlackBerries to send and receive real-time message to other commuters that have signed up for the listserv. This service is designed to rapidly distribute short, real time messages to commuters regarding commuter service issues such as tunnel problems, highway disruptions, etc. To join the service, go to Clever Commute at http://clevercommute.com/RoutesAndSignUp.php. Once there, please select "Commuter Bus" under Item 2 as the Provider Type. Then select "East Brunswick Lines." You will then have to confirm your registration. All messages come from your fellow commuters, so the more commuters that sign up for and use this service, the more effective it will become. Please send messages when there is something useful to share, but keep in mind that this listserv is not moderated in order to keep it real-time. This service is not operated by the CPAC and is not meant as a substitute for our other listservs. Suburban Transit Emergency Hotline: Suburban Transit has implemented a new 24/7 high capacity emergency hotline at 732-214-2750. We have been told that this line should always be available and will be kept current during unusual service conditions (weather, traffic, emergencies, etc.) Breakdowns: At the request of the CPAC, Suburban has begun supplying a list of in service bus breakdowns. The first list for the month of October is posted at online at http://tinyurl.com/oct09breakdowns. It is our hope and intention that this reporting will continue every month. If you are on a bus with an in service issue, please report it to the CPAC so we can verify the list as reported to the Township.

Please conserve resources and return to the rack after reading. Thank you.

East Brunswick Commuter Parking Advisory Committee

November 2009

CPAC Meetings: The next meeting of the CPAC will be at 8 pm on December 10, 2009 in the Municipal Building Conference Room. All interested commuters are strongly encouraged to attend and participate in the discussion, along with the management of the Parking Utility and Suburban Transit. Meetings for 2010 are January 14, February 11, March 11, April 8, May 13, June 10, July 8, August 12, September 7, October 14, November 9, December 9. We suggest that you check our online calendar at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EBCommuter/cal to see if there has been a schedule change before you attend a meeting so you will not be disappointed if it has been rescheduled. The voice of every commuter is important and is welcome at our meetings. Cell phones: Please be courteous to your fellow commuters including not shouting into your cell phone the entire way home. Drivers have the right to remove commuters that are too loud and disturbing the driver and other passengers from the bus. Yahoogroups: The CPAC sponsors an East Brunswick commuter discussion group on Yahoogroups at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EBCommuter/. Commuters are welcome to visit this web site, or sign up as a member to receive copies of the site’s discussion. Suburban Monthly Pass: The CPAC has in the past suggested that commuters carefully compare the cost of a 10 trip ticket ($69) to the monthly pass at $280. We believe that many commuters will see little , if any, benefit financially from purchasing this pass unless they commute more than 5 days per week given the breakeven point is 20.3 commuting days a year. You can see the full text of our discussion on this topic at our Topica site at http://lists.topica.com/lists/ebcnews/read. Reporting safety issues to NJ Department of Motor Vehicles: The CPAC periodically receives e-mails from passengers with concerns regarding specific safety and comfort issues. The CPAC appreciates your reporting any concerns that you have to us so we can monitor Suburban's service levels. However, under state law and regulation, the Township is forbidden from taking any action regarding a safety issue since these issues are regulated by the State of New Jersey. The CPAC encourages passengers to report safety or comfort issues for which they are concerned to the appropriate state regulatory unit which is the Commercial Bus Inspection & Investigation Unit of the NJ Division of Motor Vehicles. All reports must be in writing and should addressed to: NJ DOT/DMV/Enhanced Insp/Maint, Commercial Bus Insp. Unit, PO Box 680, Trenton, NJ 08666-0680, Attention: Vince Schulze. The Unit will also accept reports by fax at 609-6339369. Submitted reports must include bus company name, bus number, license plate number, date, location, description of problem being submitted, your phone number, name and address; this information is kept confidential by the Unit. As always, the Committee would appreciate the receipt of a duplicate copy of the submission. If you have additional questions about state bus safety and equipment comfort rules, the Unit can be reached at 609-777-4186. Service Auditor:The CPAC has requested expansion of the service auditor’s role to include a second auditor and to more comprehensively monitor the morning service at Neilson Plaza, the evening downtown and Crosstown service and the PABT peak evening service. The CPAC believes that such an expansion at a very modest cost would go a long way to improve the level of service that East Brunswick commuters receive. The Parking Utility is currently unwilling to add this improved peak period monitoring service for reasons that are not clear to the Committee. The CPAC encourages commuters who would like to see the contract terms enforced, and the published schedules followed in actual practice, to support this request. Port Authority Alerts: The Port Authority has recently begun operating a new alert service that notifies interested individuals about problems with its facilities including the two Manhattan bound tunnels. Commuters who sign up for this free service will get real time notifications when their commute might subject to unexpected delays. You can sign up for this service at http://btalerts.paalerts.com/subscribe.aspx Receive Newsletter and Commuter Service Information by E-mail The CPAC delivers newsletters and other information by e-mail as it becomes available. To subscribe, send an email to ebcnews-subscribe@ topica.com. Then reply when you get the sign up confirmation message. You may cancel your subscription at any time The CPAC will not disseminate your email address or use it for any other purpose. Our normal e-mail address remains ebcommuter@ yahoo.com.

Please conserve resources and return to the rack after reading. Thank you.