Founded | 1968 |
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Headquarters | Hoboken, New Jersey |
Locale | Eastern United States |
Service area | Eastern United States |
Service type | Local and commuter bus service, contract service, charter service |
Operator | Academy Lines LLC No. 22 Hillside LLC Academy Express LLC Academy Bus LLC (Florida) |
Chief executive | Francis Tedesco |
Website | www |
Academy Bus Lines is a bus company in New Jersey providing local bus services in northern New Jersey, line-run services to/from New York City from points in southern and central New Jersey, and contract and charter service in the eastern United States from Boston to Miami. In 2014, Academy acquired Go Buses, which currently operates bus service between Boston and Washington, D.C., and in southern Florida. [1] On September 27, 2023, Academy acquired James River Transportation, which operates in Virginia. [2] Academy is the third-largest motorcoach operator in the United States and Canada. [3]
Academy's fleet consists of a variety of motor coaches, including MCI D4500 (in the process of being retired), MCI J4500, Van Hool CX35, Van Hool CX45, and Van Hool C2045 motorcoaches, which are used for commuter and charter services. Nova Bus LFS and New Flyer Industries low floor buses are used for university contracts and charters, such as Columbia Transportation. Services operated under contract to New Jersey Transit use NJT-owned (and branded) North American Bus Industries buses.
Under contract to New Jersey Transit (NJT), Academy Bus operates the following routes using NJT-owned equipment. Routes are listed by county. [4] NJT did not renew its contract with Academy following a fraud settlement with Academy. [5] [6]
County | Garage | Routes | Equipment | Notes |
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Monmouth County | Toms River | 130 , 132 , 136 , 139 | 2017-2020 MCI D4500CT | Operates alongside NJ Transit during peak hours. Route 132 is now the 139E (139 Englishtown) |
Ocean County |
County | Garage | Routes | Equipment | Notes |
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Hudson County | Hoboken | 2 , 10 , 22 , 22X , 23 , 88 and 119 | 2012 NABI 416.15 | Service was taken over by Coach USA Elizabeth (ONE Bus) in June 2021. [7] |
Middlesex County | Perth Amboy | 801 , 802 , 803 , 804 , 805 , 810 , 811 , 813 , 814 , 815 , 817 , 818 , 819 and 822 | Service was taken over by Coach USA Suburban Trails in January 2021. | |
Hudson County | Hoboken | 24 | 2008-2013 NABI 416.15 | Operated alongside NJ Transit until NJT had enough operators. Academy temporarily operated from October to December 2023. |
Under contract to Rutgers University, Academy Bus operated the campus shuttles for the New Brunswick and Piscataway campuses under a 10-year contract, [8] until June 30, 2011, after which time First Transit Services, Inc. took over operations of the Rutgers Campus Buses. Academy has filed a lawsuit against the university over the loss of the contract. [9] [10] Despite the loss of shuttle operations, the company continues to provide the chartered bus operations used for tours and other events.
Academy operates Columbia Transportation for Columbia University, using both Columbia-branded transit buses and Academy-branded coaches.
Academy continues to run a separate operation in New York City for New York University and various operations for universities in southern Connecticut and around Boston. Also, Academy Bus operates long-term parking shuttles around Newark Liberty Airport under contract to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey using Port Authority-owned and branded Orion VII buses.
In January 2014, Academy began operation of the SIM23 and SIM24 (formerly X23 and X24) routes between Manhattan and Staten Island, formerly operated by the now bankrupt Atlantic Express. These routes were subsidized by and operated under contract to the New York City Economic Development Corporation. Effective January 3, 2022, operations of the two routes transferred to the MTA, with minor changes to the operating times and routing. [11]
As of October 1, 2014, Academy operates the MTA Maryland Commuter Express routes #410, #411, & #420 under contract to and using MTA Maryland owned buses. The #820 was also awarded by MTA Maryland and began operations on July 1, 2015.
Academy operates shuttle buses for Tri-Rail in Florida and operates various private and public community shuttles on behalf of municipalities and private communities throughout its service area.
In July of 2022, Academy Bus took over operations of Disney World's Cruise Line Bus route. This service was previously done by Mears Transportation, until they lost the contract in June of 2022. [12] Academy Bus also added a new Disney World Sunshine Flyer service in November of 2022. [13]
As of September 27, 2023 Academy bus operates Amtrak Thruway Service between Charlottesville to Richmond, Virginia. This service was previously operated by James River Transportation, which was acquired that same day.
Academy operated under contract BestBus, which provides intercity buses between New York and the Washington area. [14] BestBus was acquired by competitor DC Trails.
In 2013, Academy began a contract with the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League to run shuttles on game days from carrying spectators from local restaurants serving Pepsi to PNC Arena, the team's arena. The buses are free of charge for patrons who purchase Pepsi-branded drinks at partner restaurants. [15]
Academy formerly operated under contract to Bridj, a private, app-based, on-demand transit service, in the Greater Boston area. [16]
Academy Bus provides commuter line run service along several routes from Burlington, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, and Ocean counties in New Jersey. [17]
The full route is shown for each except for branching. Unless otherwise noted, passengers are carried to and from New York only.
Route | Terminals | Via | Notes | ||
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Line 300 | New York Port Authority Bus Terminal | ↔ | East Windsor Windsor Heights Shopping Center |
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← AM ---- → PM | Plainsboro Town Center |
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Jamesburg The Ponds, Concordia, and Whittingham |
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Sayreville | New York East Midtown via 5/Madison Avenues | Sayreville Winding Woods | Garden State Parkway Main Street Washington Road Bordentown Avenue |
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New York Wall Street area | Sayreville Harbor Club |
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Route 9 1 | New York Wall Street area | Lakewood Bus Terminal |
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Shore Points | New York Port Authority Bus Terminal | ↔ | Point Pleasant Beach Railroad station |
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New York Wall Street area | ← AM ---- → PM | ||||
Route 36 | New York Port Authority Bus Terminal | ↔ | Long Branch Railroad station |
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New York Wall Street area | ← AM ---- → PM | ||||
Route 35 | New York Port Authority Bus Terminal | Red Bank Route 35 and Navesink River Road |
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Parkway Express | Forked River Park and Ride |
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New York Wall Street area | |||||
Westampton | New York Port Authority Bus Terminal | ↔ |
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New York Wall Street area | ← AM ---- → PM |
NOTES:
Academy Bus operates several regularly scheduled line services from points in the New York metropolitan area to and from casinos in Atlantic City, Yonkers, and Connecticut, with service to the Port Authority Bus Terminal operated in partnership with Coach USA as a Megabus service, the M25 (buses carry Academy markings).
Academy Bus runs an intercity bus common carrier service under the "Go Buses" brand, servicing the Northeast United States from Boston to Washington, D.C.. Go Buses markets its service with amenities such as free Wi-Fi, electrical outlets, and a free bottle of water upon boarding, along with a frequent rider rewards program. Offering tickets as low as $5 per one-way trip, Go Buses competes with other low-cost intercity bus services, such as Megabus, BoltBus, and various Chinatown bus lines. Academy Bus acquired Go Buses in 2014. [18]
Academy Bus, LLC is a limited liability corporation and holding company that owns three operating companies: Academy Lines, LLC, Academy Express, LLC, and No. 22 Hillside Corporation . [19]
Metro-North Railroad, trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, is a suburban commuter rail service run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a public authority of the U.S. state of New York and under contract with the Connecticut Department of Transportation. Metro-North serves the New York Metropolitan Area, running service between New York City and its northern suburbs in New York and Connecticut, including Port Jervis, Spring Valley, Poughkeepsie, Yonkers, New Rochelle, Mount Vernon, White Plains, Southeast and Wassaic in New York and Stamford, New Canaan, Danbury, Bridgeport, Waterbury, and New Haven in Connecticut. Metro-North also provides local rail service within the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx.
New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit or NJTransit and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey and portions of the state of New York and Pennsylvania. It operates bus, light rail, and commuter rail services throughout the state, connecting to major commercial and employment centers both within the state and in its two adjacent major cities, New York City and Philadelphia. In 2022, the system had a ridership of 175,960,600.
Secaucus Junction is an intermodal transit hub operated by New Jersey Transit in Secaucus, New Jersey. It is one of busiest railway stations in North America.
The MTA Regional Bus Operations bus fleet is a fleet of buses in fixed-route service in New York City under the "MTA New York City Bus" and "MTA Bus" brands, both of which operate local, limited, express and Select Bus Service routes.
The Atlantic City Line (ACL) is a commuter rail line operated by NJ Transit (NJT) in the United States between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Atlantic City, New Jersey, operating along the corridor of the White Horse Pike. It runs over trackage that was controlled by both the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) and the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines. It shares trackage with SEPTA and Amtrak on the Northeast Corridor (NEC) until it crosses the Delaware River on Conrails Delair Bridge into New Jersey.
The Port Jervis Line is a predominantly single-track commuter rail line running between Suffern and Port Jervis, in the U.S. state of New York. At Suffern, the line continues south into New Jersey on NJ Transit's Main Line. The line is operated by NJ Transit Rail Operations under a contract with Metro-North Railroad (MNRR).
NJ Transit Bus Operations' and companies leasing buses from NJ Transit use various models of buses between 25 and 60 feet in length to provide service within the state of New Jersey. The lists and rosters below list current and past buses purchased new or inherited by NJ Transit for heavy duty fixed-route service.
NJ Transit Bus Operations is the bus division of NJ Transit, providing bus service throughout New Jersey along with service along with the Newark Light Rail service. Many of the agency’s bus routes travel over state lines to New York City or Philadelphia. In 2022, the bus system had a ridership of 112,626,600.
MTA Regional Bus Operations operates local and express buses serving New York City in the United States out of 29 bus depots. These depots are located in all five boroughs of the city, plus one located in nearby Yonkers in Westchester County. 21 of these depots serve MTA New York City Transit (NYCT)'s bus operations, while the remaining eight serve the MTA Bus Company These facilities perform regular maintenance, cleaning, and painting of buses, as well as collection of revenue from bus fareboxes. Several of these depots were once car barns for streetcars, while others were built much later and have only served buses. Employees of the depots are represented by local divisions of the Transport Workers Union of America (TWU), particularly the TWU Local 100 and 101, or of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU)'s Local's 726 for all depots in Staten Island, 1056 for Casey Stengel, Jamaica, and Queens Village Depots, 1179 for JFK & Far Rockaway Depots, and 1181 for Spring Creek Depot.
The Maryland Transit Administration provides the primary public bus service for the Baltimore metropolitan area and commuter bus service in other parts of the state of Maryland. There are currently 76 bus routes, which include 45 LocalLink routes, 12 High Frequency CityLink Routes routes, 8 express bus routes, 19 commuter bus routes, and 5 Intercounty Connector or "ICC" routes. The local and commuter bus routes operate in conjunction with one subway line, three light rail lines, MARC train service, and various connections to other transit agencies.
Olympia Trails, also doing business as Megabus Northeast, LLC for the Megabus service that it directly operates, is a bus operator serving northern New Jersey with local and commuter bus service. It also formerly operated as Red & Tan in Hudson County for operations in Hudson County, New Jersey, and also formerly operated ONE/Independent Bus for local bus service in Essex and Union counties in New Jersey. It has been owned by Coach USA since 1998.
DeCamp Bus Lines is an apportioned bus company serving Essex County, New Jersey and Passaic County, New Jersey, with charter services. Until 2023, DeCamp also operated commuter line-run services to and from Manhattan.
The Broadway Bus Terminal is a major local and regional bus terminal in Paterson, New Jersey operated by New Jersey Transit. It is located on Broadway between Memorial Drive and West Broadway in Downtown Paterson, putting it near Passaic County Community College and a few blocks from Paterson City Hall and the Great Falls Historic District, including the Great Falls.
The George Washington Bridge Plaza, also known as GWB Plaza or Bridge Plaza, is the convergence of roads and highways around the George Washington Bridge toll plaza in Fort Lee, New Jersey, United States. The plaza is located north of and parallel to Fort Lee's Main Street. The surrounding busy area is characterized by a mix of commercial and residential uses and an architectural variety that includes parking lots, strip malls, houses, gas stations, mid-rise office buildings and high-rise condominiums. Just to the east is Fort Lee Historic Park, Palisades Interstate Park and the bridge's western tower.
Rutgers Campus Buses are a zero-fare bus service used by students at Rutgers University campuses. It is the second-largest bus service in New Jersey after NJ Transit, and one of the largest university bus systems in the United States. Service is provided by Transdev year-round, including weekends and holidays. Late night shuttle service for students is provided by Rutgers Department of Transportation Services when the New Brunswick campus transit system is not in service. Football and other event shuttles are operated by Academy Bus Lines.
Bus rapid transit in New Jersey comprises limited-stop bus service, exclusive bus lanes (XBL) and bus bypass shoulders (BBS). Under the banner Next Generation Bus New Jersey Transit (NJT), the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT), and the metropolitan planning organizations of New Jersey (MPO) which recommend and authorize transportation projects are undertaking the creation of several additional bus rapid transit systems (BRT) in the state.
The Mass Transit Super Bowl was a public transportation plan and marketing strategy conceived for Super Bowl XLVIII and Super Bowl Week, a series of events leading up to the February 2, 2014, football game between the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks. It was originally projected that over 400,000 people would come to the New York–New Jersey region for the game and related activities, and that over 80,000 would attend the game itself; actual patronage of the metropolitan area during that time was projected to be over 500,000. Metropolitan area transit agencies worked with the National Football League, organizers of the event, and developed special services, schedules, fares, and maps to promote the use of mass transit during the week, which began with the arrival of teams on January 26.
Columbia Transportation is a fare-free bus network providing service to Columbia University campuses. It is operated by Academy Bus Lines and Luxury Transportation to serve employees and students. The buses are open to all Columbia faculty, students, Dodge Fitness Center members, and anyone else who holds a Columbia ID card.