def #40

def #40 03/05/10

COUNTY REVISES ITS BRICK LINK BUS LINE FOLLOWING ABRUPT STATE FUNDING CUTS

THE UNEXPECTED and abrupt loss of $44,500 in state funding has forced the county to immediately revise its Brick Link bus line with a new emphasis on morning and afternoon commuter coverage.

"The state had originally agreed to fund the route through June of this year and we had no warning of this cut," said Freeholder Gerry P. Little, liaison to the Ocean County Transportation Department. "We're doing our best to let our riders know of the change so there will be as little impact as possible on our passengers."

The revised route, which goes into effect Monday morning, will continue to have stops starting in Point Pleasant Beach, Point Pleasant, Brick Township and Lakewood.

New Brick Link ridership hours will be from 6:30 a.m. to 9:20 a.m. and again from 3:30p.m. to 6:20 p.m. Midday service hours will be eliminated.

Little also warned residents to brace for more state cuts to the transportation department.

"The continued downward trends in state funding, such as the declining casino revenue fund, may mean further reductions and adjustments to the County bus service," Little said.

Ocean Ride began in part because of the lack of state-run public transportation in Ocean County, but the county still relies on Trenton to help fund our 17 bus routes, he said.

The Brick Link provides a critical east-west transit connection linking several northern Ocean County communities. More than 50 riders rely on the service to access jobs in the Brick and Lakewood area including the Lakewood Industrial Park, said Kathleen C. Edmond, Director of Ocean Ride.

Little said county transportation workers were assigned to the bus route on Friday to hand out literature on the sudden route changes.

The route will continue to serve all of the original stops: Point Pleasant Beach Rail Station, Point Pleasant Borough Municipal Complex, Beaver Dam Road and Route 88; Sawmill Road Complex and Lanes Mill Road, Brick Township, Lakewood Industrial Park, Route 70, Ocean Medical Center and Veterans Administration Clinic, Cedar Bridge Avenue and Route 70, Lakewood, First Energy Park at Cedar Bridge Avenue, Martin Luther King Drive Complex, Pine Street and River Avenue (Route 9) and the Lakewood Bus Terminal.