the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Woodcliff Lake NJ, Assemblywomen Holly Schepisi relays her thoughts on improving Rockland/Coach bus service. I have used the service in the past and while the drivers are professional the company demonstrates a complete lack of interest in servicing North Jersey commuters and as a long time commuter I would rate the service as TERRIBLE at best . It is often incomprehensible how poor the service actually is. Its odd because Coach that runs the service from the Ridgewood Park and Ride does a far better job than Rockland and Rockland is just a division of the same company COACH USA.
Assemblywomen Holly Schepisi :
Last night, I, Carlos A. Rendo Mayor-Woodcliff Lake, NJ, Councilwoman Jacquie Gadaleta, Catherine Best from Congressman Gottheimer’s office, Borough Administrator Tom Padilla, Woodcliff Lake resident commuters and representatives from Rockland/Coach USA met to discuss ways to improve bus service for our residents. Over the past several months we have received numerous complaints regarding the reliability of bus service from our area into the Port Authority as well as the failure of Rockland/Coach USA to properly communicate with commuters regarding interruptions in service.
During last evening’s meeting, Rockland’s new general manager and Executive Vice President acknowledged these issues and discussed immediate action plans to remedy the service and communication problems. 30 new longer buses have been acquired by the Company, increasing the number of seats on these buses to 59 passengers from the previous 47. This should help with the issues of no seats for last pick up areas such as Woodcliff Lake. 5 “gap” buses are currently in training to fill in if a bus becomes disabled or a driver doesn’t show up to work. In January the Company is planning to start a new bus originating in Woodcliff Lake during the height of the rush hour to ensure adequate seating for its customers.
With respect to lack of communication, Rockland is exploring new apps which could provide real time alerts to commuters in the event of a delay or change in bus schedule. Dispatchers are being trained specifically to address customer service issues and a full time manager is now on site at the Westwood bus depot to oversee operations.
While we all acknowledge these problems will not be fixed overnight, the steps being taken by the Company appear to be a step in a positive direction. We have agreed to meet as a group again at the end of January beginning of February to evaluate the changes made between now and then. Should you encounter any commuter difficulties over the next 6 weeks while on Rockland buses please reach out and let us know so that we may bring it to the Company’s attention.
