Rutgers' bus system continues to experience some delays

The Rutgers University—New Brunswick’s bus system has continued to experience breakdowns and delays in recent weeks, with one bus involved in a vehicle collision this past Tuesday and another going up in smoke on Sept. 20.

A bus was involved in a hit-and-run this past Tuesday while stopped at 290 George St., said Neal Buccino, a University spokesperson. 

“The bus received minor damage. No injuries were reported,” Buccino said. 

On Sept. 20, Mary Willmot, a Mason Gross School of the Arts sophomore, was stepping out of rehearsal in the Voorhees Chapel when she saw the F bus “just spewing smoke,” she said. 

“It was really thick, hot smoke that smelled like burning oil,” Willmot said. “It was smoking like that for at least a minute before they finally pulled over and got people off the bus.”

Buccino said the Sept. 20 incident was due to a mechanical issue and the bus was brought back to the First Transit garage for repairs. First Transit is the company that owns and operates the University’s buses. 

The bus system has a yearly budget of approximately $12 million per year, The Daily Targum reported earlier this month. At the time, Dory Devlin, a University spokesperson, admitted that buses had been experiencing some delays, but said that the amount of passengers is monitored consistently and buses had been added to the fleet in the past few years.