Once upon a time, an innovative entrepreneur named Joe Colangelo came up with an idea: He would provide a luxury bus service which would be an alternative to NJ Transit. In particular, the routes would serve areas with mediocre service.
The NJ Transit Raritan Valley Line doesn't have direct service to New York Penn Station during rush hour. Instead, riders have to transfer at Newark Penn Station- and that transfer entails walking up to a mezzanine, passing through the mezzanine, walking down to another platform, and waiting for an overcrowded connecting train. The Boxcar Raritan Rocket remedied this problem. It stops at Fanwood, Westfield, Garwood, and Cranford before heading nonstop to Midtown Manhattan. The Ridgeliner, which stops at Berkeley Heights, New Providence, and Summit, is an alternative to the infrequent Gladstone Branch. There are quite a few other Boxcar routes.
The Boxcar buses are comfortable (albeit too cold in the summer). Most seats have outlets. And there's a restroom (it has a generic weird cleaning fluid smell). And with that said, I DON'T recommend Boxcar. It's more expensive than NJ Transit. Furthermore, even though it's a one seat ride, it's slower than NJ Transit. Traffic crawls on the Garden State Parkway, NJ Turnpike, and in the Lincoln Tunnel. The convenience of a one seat ride isn't worth getting to work late.
The biggest problem is that the buses simply aren't frequent enough for Boxcar to be a viable option. Life happens and plans can change on a whim. If you miss your scheduled bus then you're screwed. Ironically, you'll have to take NJ Transit.
Boxcar is a great idea, but it's not practical for most commuters. read more