Borough Considers Eliminating Hard-and-Fast Minibus Schedule

In an effort to save on costs and enhance the efficiency of its minibus service, Fair Lawn is considering eliminating designated bus routes and transitioning to a pick-up by appointment transportation model.

“We are of the opinion that it could be more economical, although it’ll require a little bit more work scheduling,” said borough manager Tom Metzler, who plans to consult with neighboring Glen Rock, which he said uses a similar pick-up by appointment busing model.

“Basically, people would call in to make appointments for pick-up and it would take them where they need to go in Fair Lawn, as opposed to this continuous driving loop,” Metzler said, “because what’s happened is, there are days where they are driving all day and there are very few people using the bus.”

Ever since minibus services were cut in half due to budget constraints in 2010, the service has grown increasingly less convenient for riders. 

“We realized when one minibus was eliminated, that the turnaround time is over an hour,” Metzler said. “So people used to being picked up and dropped off a half-hour later are now sitting an hour, hour and fifteen minutes waiting for the bus to come.”

On Saturdays, when the bus is in service from only 10 a.m. to 12:50 p.m, the cuts have had the inadvertent effect of stranding some passengers. Until recently, any Saturday riders who were dropped off at any point along the route after 11:30 a.m. had to make arrangements to be picked up later by a neighbor, or risk walking home because the bus didn’t return to that stop. 

This past fall, after noticing that ridership was down on Saturdays for that reason, the bus driver began sweeping back around after normal service hours to and – the two most popular stops – to pick up otherwise stranded passengers and bring them directly back home. 

“Once the word got out that we were going back,” human services director Carol Wagner said, “then the number of people using the bus really increased because they know they can get on in this route and still get back home by 2 o’clock at the latest.”

These sorts of convenient sweeps at prime locations, in addition to pick-ups by appointment, may prove to be the most efficient way to operate the minibus going forward.

Currently, the town’s lone minibus runs continuously during the week from 8:30 a.m. to 4:40 p.m. with timed stops at various convenient locations throughout town like the Shop-Rite and Pathmark, River Road Post Office and on Romaine Street. On Saturdays, the bus runs the same route, but is in service from only 10 a.m. to 12:50 p.m.

While there are 15 designated stops, Wagner said the minibus will stop for anyone waiting at any point along the passenger side of its route. In some instances, elderly or disabled passengers are dropped off directly in front of their homes if the driver feels it is in the best interest of their safety.

Metzler said if the borough goes to a pick-up by appointment model, which would limit the number of passengers at any one time, it would also be prudent to inquire about eliminating the bus itself and instead transporting passengers in a smaller van that would be more inexpensive to maintain.

He said he’s also entertaining the possibility of working out an agreement with Glen Rock to share substitute drivers because finding flexible and qualified part-timers in Fair Lawn has proven to be difficult.

"Everything and anything is on the table,” he said. “We have to operate more efficiently.”