Wyoming Jitney Rescued With New Stops

Daniel Baer, a Millburn Township Committee member, said during Tuesday's committee meeting the jitney had been saved and the two stops would be changed. The stops will now be located at Cypress Street and Ridgewood Road and at Pine Street and Wyoming Avenue.

The previous stops were at at Glen Avenue and Cyprus Street, which is Slayton Field, and at Wyoming Avenue and Maple Street.

The jitney, which is offered by Maplewood, serves as a shuttle for residents to the Maplewood Train Station. But in June Maplewood officials considered disbanding the extension of the service into the Wyoming section of Millburn because of poor ridership.

After media attention was shined on the jitney's potential disbanding, there was an increase in ridership, temporarily saving the branch of the jitney service. Local officials have been working since then to permanently save the jitney.

Jennifer Duckworth, Millburn Environmental Commission chairman, said officials believe moving the locations would increase ridership. The Ridgewood Road and Cypress Street has coverage because of the train trestle, she said, and it will give commuters coverage from the elements.

The Ridgewood and Cypress stop had been previously considered, but there were concerns about a storm drain in that location. Baer said there were fears someone would fall, but they visited the area and believe it's not that bad.

Duckworth said the stop at Slayton Field didn't work because there weren't many houses in the area. By moving the stop to Ridgewood, she said, there would be better access to the residents in the area, including on Evergreen Terrace.

The Pine Street and Wyoming Avenue stop would give better access to the jitney for Wyoming Elementary School parents.

"They could drop their kids off at school and then walk to the jitney stop," she said.

Commuters will also have better access to the schedule and updates because it's been moved online, Duckworth said. "There hadn't been an online resource," she said. Also, there are plans for a meeting for residents in the Wyoming area to learn more about the jitney.

Duckworth said the jitney is beneficial to reducing the number of cars on the road and reduces parking congestion at the train stations.

"it's a nice community service," she said. "We're doing all we can to make it available."

There are hopes the ridership further increases, Duckworth said. She'd like to see five to 10 more people take the jitney to the train station. "With more riders, it's more likely (the jitney will) continue," she said.