Commuters who travel between the local area and Midtown Manhattan are going to find a new way to get to work and home.
That’s because DeCamp Bus Lines, which has for decades served the local area with transport to and from Manhattan, will cease operations April 7, the company said today, though charter, shuttle and casino routes will not change.
“As we pass the three-year mark from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, DeCamp Bus Lines has struggled to recapture daily-commuter passengers as work-from-home, telecommuting and flex schedules severely reduced daily commuting to New York City,” the company said on Twitter. “Despite our best efforts, monthly ridership averages 20% or less of pre-COVID levels. DeCamp has sustained commuter services up to this point, thanks to the various federal and state financial assistance programs. But, without further assistance on the horizon, the economic losses from continued operations of the commuter services are too much to bear.”
The company says it is disappointed it has to cease operations, but it had no other choice.
“We want to take this opportunity to express our heartfelt gratitude for your continued support throughout the years,” DeCamp said. “Serving you has been a pleasure, and we appreciate your loyalty to DeCamp Bus Lines. We deeply regret any inconvenience this decision may cause, and we hope you can understand the challenging circumstances that led to this decision.”
The company suggested seeking other options with NJTransit. Unused, unexpired DeCamp tickets may be returned to DeCamp Bus Lines for a refund.
Locally, the No. 44 and No. 99 bus lines served parts of Kearny, Harrison, Belleville, North Arlington, Lyndhurst and Manhattan.
The NY Times reported DeCamp went from an average of 6,500 daily commuters before the pandemic to around 200 thereafter. Ridership, The Times said, rose to about 1,300 commuters as pandemic conditions improved.
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, a place where he has served on and off since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on Facebook Live, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to West Hudson to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.