Lakewood Township Committee Set to Approve $300K Shuttle Liaison Project, Add New Traffic Coordination Role

The Lakewood Township Committee is expected to approve spending $300,000 on a shuttle bus liaison project, along with the creation of an additional $25,000 position tied to emergency traffic coordination.

According to township materials, the new role — described as a “Neighborhood Navigator” acting as a Shuttle Busing Liaison — would be responsible for coordinating shuttle operations and communicating real-time service updates, route changes, closures, weather-related disruptions, and emergency conditions to the public in order to support traffic flow and public safety.

The committee vote follows action taken by the Lakewood Development Corporation (LDC), which approved the $300,000 expenditure during a brief meeting on Wednesday.

The shuttle system itself has drawn mixed reactions from residents. Many report seeing largely empty buses operating throughout town, with limited public awareness of routes or schedules. The most recent shuttle schedule available on the township website dates back to May 2023 and is posted only as a downloadable PDF. There is currently no publicly listed phone number for the shuttle liaison, nor an automated information line for riders.

Despite these limitations, township officials have stated that the shuttle carries approximately 140,000 passengers annually. However, officials have acknowledged that this figure is based on a formula rather than direct passenger counts. According to that explanation, the estimate assumes an average of about 540 riders per full operating day, excluding partial or non-operating days, which equates to roughly 68 passengers per route per day.

Much of the shuttle service is concentrated in Chasidic neighborhoods in South Lakewood, where buses are used to transport residents to destinations such as CHEMED and nearby shopping centers. Other routes serve day laborers traveling to the township’s industrial park. At the same time, residents in other parts of Lakewood say they remain underserved, noting that yeshiva students are frequently seen hitchhiking, young couples often carpool to yeshiva, and senior housing developments with residents who cannot drive are not consistently served by the system.
The proposed liaison funding comes amid a broader expansion of the Lakewood Shuttle program. In November, township officials announced the addition of three full-size transit buses that entered service in March, with five more ordered and additional purchases under consideration. The buses were acquired using Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ) funds, which are generated by reduced sales tax collections from local businesses and reinvested into municipal projects. Officials have said the upgraded fleet features enhanced accessibility and tri-lingual signage, and that route expansions are under review as Lakewood continues to grow.