Dispute shuts down NJ Transit bus stop

HARDYSTON-As of May 2, the New Jersey Transit Route 194 bus to New York City no longer stops in the Stockholm section of Hardyston, and bewildered riders still don't fully understand why. The former bus stop was located near the intersection of New Jersey Route 23 and County Road 515 in the parking lot of Victoria's Inn, which is owned by George Amoratis. Commuters say that officials have provided unsatisfying explanations for the suddenly suspended bus service, citing "unforeseen legal or liability issues." All that erstwhile bus riders know is that they now must trek every morning to the closest park-and-ride lot in Newfoundland during rush-hour traffic and pray they get there in time to secure one of the few available spaces. Two alternate park-and-ride lots are located on the Route 23-New York bus route, one in the Butler Meadtown Shopping Center, the other in Wayne. NJ Transit established the stop in December 2003. The owners of Victoria's Mountain Inn say they were happy to oblige when New Jersey Department of Transportation offered them a three-year contract to establish a park-and-ride for 30 cars on inn property. Because the inn operates only on Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday, the parking lot was nearly empty from Monday through Friday. The transportation department paid the Amoratis $1 per day for each of the 30 cars authorized to park there n about $600 per month. A Victoria's Inn spokeswoman, who identified herself only as Victoria, said that about 55 cars on average had been parking in the lot. Township Manager Marianne Smith the problem exclusively to a DOT-property owner contractual issue. "Hardyston has nothing to with the suspension of bus service," she said. "We want commuters to have convenient transportation, and we're working with DOT to solve the difficulties." Brendan Gill of the NJDOT explained that some of the drivers unknowingly had been parking on adjacent Newark watershed land. Because NJDOT does not have a contract for park-and-ride spaces with the City of Newark, a liability issue existed. NJ Transit, Hardyston, NJDOT, and the property owners are working to solve the problem and either reopen the lot or identify an alterative site, Gill said.