A Concept for a
Personal Rapid Transit System
in the
State of New Jersey
Final Course Project for ORF 467 Transportation Systems Analysis, Fall 2007-08
Princeton University
Professor Alain L. Kornhauser
Project Contributors
Atlantic Justin Karfo ’09, Kai Ross ’09
Bergen Rich Birge ’08, Jayme Ranalli ’08
Burlington Derrick Leung ’08, Malik Saunders ’08
Camden Pawel Buczak ’10, Zach Woolridge ’08
Cape May Justin Karfo ’09, Kai Ross ’09
Cumberland Michael Caswell ’08, Justin Weinkle ’08
Essex Philippe Kurzweil ’08, Schuster Tanger ’08
Gloucester Pawel Buczak ’10, Zach Woolridge ’08
Hudson Philippe Kurzweil ’08, Schuster Tanger ’08
Hunterdon Charles Hedlund ’08, Shirley Li ’08
Mercer Derrick Leung ’08, Malik Saunders ’08
Middlesex Kelsey Stallings ’09, Kelly Stapleton ’08
Monmouth Shriya Raghavan ’09, Martin Valdez-Vivas ’09
Morris Charles Hedlund ’08, Shirley Li ’08
Ocean Bryan Gartner ’08, Fernando Gonzalez-Quintanill ’08
Passaic Rich Birge ’08, Jayme Ranalli ’08
Salem Michael Caswell ’08, Justin Weinkle ’08
Somerset Chao Lu ’08, Mengxi Ouyang ’08
Sussex Margaret Orr ’08, Karen Winterhof ’09
Union Philippe Kurzweil ’08, Schuster Tanger ’08
Warren Margaret Orr ’08, Karen Winterhof ’09
Google Maps/Earth Tool Kit Aaron Linsky ’08, Spencer Lucian ’08, Irene Ndikumwenayo ’09
County Integration Kyle Johnston ’08
January 26, 2008
2
Contents
1 Middlesex County 1
1.1 Current Transportation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Land Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.3 Personal Rapid Transit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.4 Stations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.5 Trip Estimates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.6 Cost of PRT System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.7 Value of the PRT System and Next Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
i
ii CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Middlesex County
Middlesex County is located in the heart of New Jersey, just south of New York City. It is bordered to the North
by Union County and the Rahway River, to the East by New York City, Raritan Bay, and Monmouth County, to
the South by Mercer County and to the West by Somerset County.
Figure 1.1: Middlesex County, New Jersey
Mddlesex is one of the fasted growing counties in New Jersey, having gained 154,000 residents between 1980
and 2000, and it was estimated at 786,971 residents in 2006. 1 The population is denser in the north and northeast
areas, while the southern part of the county is less populated.
1.1 Current Transportation
Current public transportation in the county includes a few small airports, the two public ones being Monmouth
Executive Airport and Old Bridge Airport. There are eleven NJ Transit rail lines, including the Hoboken Division
(Morris & Essex, Montclair-Boonton, Main/Bergen, and Pascack Valley lines), the Newark Division (Northeast
Corridor, North Jersey Coast, and Raritan Valley lines), and the Atlantic City rail line. These lines access 10
1 http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/34/34023.html
1
2 CHAPTER 1. MIDDLESEX COUNTY
Figure 1.2: Middlesex County Population Density
stations within the county. NJ Transit buses also access most of the county. Sea Streak Ferry operates a ferry
service from South Amboy to Manhattan.
Figure 1.3: Major Roadways in Middlesex County
Middlesex is located in the largest transportation corridor in New Jersey, which includes major state roads
I95 (New Jersey Turnpike), which runs NE to SW between New York and Philadelphia, and I287 (Garden State
Parkway), as well as public transportation. Of the commuters in the county, about three-quarters drive alone to
work, while 11% carpool and 9% take public transit. A little over half of residents work in Middlesex County and
10% commute to New York.2 The northern half of the county has many more households with that do not have
vehicles available. In New Brunswick on the west and Perth Amboy on the east side, between a quarter and a
half of households do not have a vehicle available. In the southern half of the county, generally at least 95% of
households have access to a vehicle.
1.2 Land Use
Of the 375 square miles in Middlesex County, it breaks down into about half developed land and half undeveloped.
Almost one quarter of the county is residential and one tenth is commercial and industrial.
Major recreational areas include two shopping malls over 1 million square feet: Woodbridge Center Mall in
Woodbridge and Menlo Park Mall in Edison. There are also many parks and open space areas, including Thompson
Park in Monroe/Jamesbury, which totals 675 acres, and Johnson Park in Piscataway/Highland Park, which totals
473 acres.
2 http://www.co.middlesex.nj.us/planningboard/MiddlesexTransStudyreport.pdf
1.2. LAND USE 3
Figure 1.4: Zero Vehicle Households in Middlesex
Table 1.1: Land Use in Middlesex County
Land Use Description Square Miles % of County
Residential—Low Density 7.8 2.31
Residential—Moderate Density 65.12 19.28
Residential—High Density 7.73 2.29
Residential—Total 80.65 23.88
Commercial—Urban 9.61 2.85
Commercial—Suburban 3.92 1.16
Commercial—Total 13.53 4.01
Industrial 21.26 6.29
Recreational 27.31 8.09
Agricultural 41.88 12.40
Forested 82.85 24.53
Wetlands 70.28 20.81
Land Area—Total 337.76 90.25
County Area—Total 374.25 100
Developed Land—Total 179.25 47.90
Undeveloped Land—Total 195.00 52.10
4 CHAPTER 1. MIDDLESEX COUNTY
Within Middlesex County, there are clusters of employment sites, including offices and industrial parks, along
the Turnpike and also along US Route 1.
Figure 1.5: Middlesex County Employment Locations
The top 10 major employers in the county (serving 2000 or more employees) are
• Bristol-Myers Squibb
• Merrill Lynch & Company
• Prudential Insurance Company
• Telcordia Technology
• Johnson & Johnson
• Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital
• Silverline Building Products
• JFK Medical Center
• Raritan Bay Medical Center
• St Peters University Hospital
Commuters travel to five sites of higher education within the county: Middlesex County College, Rutgers
University, Princeton University’s Forrestal Campus, University of Medicine and Dentistry, and DeVry Institute.
Middlesex County contains 22 major high schools, as well as over 100 lower educational facilities. Some of the
largest high schools, with enrollment over 2,000 students, are East Brunswick HS, Edison HS, JP Stevens HS, Old
Bridge HS, Perth Amboy HS, Piscataway Township HS, and South Brunswick HS.
1.3 Personal Rapid Transit
Our Personal Rapid Transit system was designed with 366 stations and 71 interchanges, connected by 690 sections
of guideway, totaling almost 145 miles. The system will include just over 227,000 vehicles and serve almost 6 million
trips per day with an average of 18 minutes per trip and 1.6 people per vehicle during peak hours.
Because three-quarters of the commuting county population drives alone to work, a PRT system should be
convenient for workers and provide accessibility to employment sites. The system was designed with stations added
near major employment, industrial, and recreation sites and existing transportation sites. There are also stations
in residential areas with the goal of stations within a half kilometer of most houses. The northern half of the county
is more densely populated and so there are more stations there than in the southern half, which has more open
space.
The stations are connected with sections of guideway to create small loops that are then connected to other
loops by interchanges. The guideway between stations travels in one direction around the loop and the interchanges
are connected in both directions.
1.3. PERSONAL RAPID TRANSIT 5
Figure 1.6: Middlesex County PRT
Table 1.2: Middlesex County PRT Statistics
Statistic Number
Number of Vehicles 227,023 vehicles
Cost per vehicle $150,000 / vehicle
Total Vehicle cost for your County $ 34,053 million
# Daily Trips 5,873,481 daily trips
Average Trip Time during peak hour 18.14 minutes
Empty Return Factor during peak hour 1.4
% daily trips during peak hour 15%
Average Vehicle Occupancy during peak period 1.64 people / vehicle
Average speed of cars on network 35 miles per hour
Average station dwell time (peak time) 1 minute
Average trip length 10 miles
People in cars with people during peak times 2.3 people
6 CHAPTER 1. MIDDLESEX COUNTY
1.4 Stations
The Middlesex county PRT network includes 366 stations, distributed as follows.
Table 1.3: Middlesex County PRT Station Statistics
# Stations # Trip Ends Avg. Trip Ends / Station
housing 206 1,618,152 7,855.107
industry 94 2,565,700 27,294.681
office 16 168,500 10,531.250
public 6 90,000 15,000.000
recreation 8 1,890 236.250
school 15 231,639 15,442.600
shopping 9 1,150,000 127,777.778
transport 12 47,600 3,966.667
Five stations are estimated to serve at least 200,000 trips per day. This includes the two largest shopping
centers, both over 1 million square feet: Woodbridge Center Mall and Brunswick Square Mall, as well as three
industrial centers: Jersey Center Metroplex, Turnpike Industrial Park, and Keystone. Jersey Center Metroplex
includes 506 acres in Monmouth Junction and Turnpike Industrial Park consists of 210 acres in East Brunswick.
Keystone includes 610 acres in Cranbury. These locations would require larger stations to handle this capacity and
would provide a significant reduction in traffic. The industrial centers serve a large number of employees, most
of whom commute alone in a car. Traveling to a shopping center is typically easier in a personal vehicle than in
public transportation, because of having to carry purchases. A PRT system would provide the same potentially
private travel and direct service to residential areas. These stations would be a key component of the success and
profitability system.
There are four parks that serve fewer than 300 trips per day. They include 473 acres at Johnson Park in
Piscataway and 675 acres at Thompson Park in Monroe. Fords Park and William Warren County Park in Wood-
bridge total 144 acres and the last recreational area is Fairway Golf Centre in North Stelton. These recreational
locations may not serve as many trips, but they are located in residential areas that may spill over. There is a lot
of undeveloped land in Middlesex County and it is important to provide access to the open space areas like these
recreation areas.
The system connects with current transportation in the county, with stations at the two airports and the ten
New Jersey Transit stations. There are also stations at all of the major Park and Ride lots in the county in order to
provide access to travelers who might not live near a station or don’t want to drive their entire commute. There are
all stations at all major industrial parks and office complexes, including those containing the ten biggest employers.
The stations aim to serve all residential areas by providing a station within a half mile of any house. This was
more or less accomplished in the densely populated areas, as in the northern part of the county, but not always in
the southern area, where the houses are more spread out.
There are stations serving the five sites of higher education, while the distribution of residential and commercial
stations seems to cover enough area to serve the high schools and lower schools.
1.5 Trip Estimates
We estimated the number of productions and attractions through each of the stations, based on the land use of the
surrounding area, using the following assumptions.
Residential For all residential stations, the number of estimated trips is 4 times the approximate population
within a half mile of the station, calculated using population density for each township. This is based on the
national transportation average of 4.1 trips per person per day.
Education For stations serving educational facilities, it is assumed that each student, faculty member, and staff
member would make two trips through the station per day.
Transportation We assumed that there were two daily trips through the station for each weekday boarding at
the train stations, recorded by NJ Transit. We also assumed there were four daily trips made for each flight at the
two airports.
1.6. COST OF PRT SYSTEM 7
Figure 1.7: Trip Distribution for Middlesex County
Industrial and Office If there were available employment numbers, it is assumed that each worker used the
stations twice each day. If the information was not available, estimates are based on the area of the buildings or
the number of buildings (estimated by Google Earth), with the assumption of 500 employees per building, 200
employees per acre, or 100 employees per square feet.
Recreation For shopping centers, we assumed 25 visitors per 100 square feet of mall space. For parks, we
assumed that there was 1 visitor per 10 acres of open space, based on national park estimates, with the assumption
that each visitor made 2 daily trips through the station.
Hotels Trips were based on the assumption that the residents of each room made 4 daily trips and that half of
the rooms were occupied.
1.6 Cost of PRT System
The system will include just over 227,000 vehicles, at a cost of $150,000 per vehicle, 336 stations, at a cost of $2.5
million per station, and 145 miles of guideway, at a cost of $5 million per mile, for a total cost of almost $36 billion.
The most costly portion of the system by far would be the vehicles required to transport all of the passengers.
Initially it would be make more sense to purchase fewer vehicles because the system would most likely not start
running at full capacity. As more travelers become accustomed to the PRT system, the number of vehicles could
be increased to match.
1.7 Value of the PRT System and Next Steps
Current public transportation in Middlesex County is limited to a few rail lines and bus service, but the majority
of travel is on major roads. A Personal Rapid Transit system would be extremely valuable to Middlesex County
because of both the number of households without cars and the number of commuters who drive alone to work. By
8 CHAPTER 1. MIDDLESEX COUNTY
offering access to major employment sites and covering the developed land of the county with stations, our network
would serve both of these groups.
Our research and network, however, are only an initial look into the needs of the county. More in-depth study
would need to be done into where stations would be most useful and where there is space for stations. One of the
biggest flaws in our network is that there is not necessarily room for a station in each place we’d like to locate one.
We also assumed that virtually all travelers would use the system, which is not a fair assumption to make. The
numbers would need to be adjusted based on actual use, which would not necessarily be uniform across the county.
Located in a major transportation corridor in New Jersey, Middlesex sees a significant amount of automobile
traffic. An effective PRT system would help to alleviate that traffic, while still being accessible and efficient for
travelers. With fewer people in cars, there would also be a positive effect on pollution and air quality.
Middlesex’s roads are crowded and likely to get more crowded without an effective public transportation system.
Middlesex’s residential development increased by 9.4% from 1990 to 2000, greater than New Jersey as a whole,
which increased development at 7.6%. The county is expected to grow at a rate of 8% between 2000 and 2010 and
it lacks the capacity to handle these travelers.
In order to clear up the traffic, the county needs to find a compromise between the crowded public transportation
and the congested roads. A PRT vehicle would allow solitary travel, while also providing a convenient opportunity
to share vehicles. The next step in Middlesex County transportation is a Personal Rapid Transit system.
List of Figures
1.1 Middlesex County, New Jersey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Middlesex County Population Density . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.3 Major Roadways in Middlesex County . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.4 Zero Vehicle Households in Middlesex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.5 Middlesex County Employment Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.6 Middlesex County PRT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.7 Trip Distribution for Middlesex County . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
9
10 LIST OF FIGURES
List of Tables
1.1 Land Use in Middlesex County . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2 Middlesex County PRT Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.3 Middlesex County PRT Station Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
11