To the Editor:

As a regular user of the public transit system around Princeton, I see several ways to improve the commute situation after the Dinky move.

First, add a stop at the Princeton Junction to bus 655. Local bus routes have not been substantially changed for at least 30 years. The new 655 is added to connect the new hospital to Princeton and as such it does not get a lot of riders. The problem is that there aren’t enough interesting stops on the route. There is no stop between the last stop in Princeton at Alexander Street and Basin Street and the hospital which is quite a long distance. If the Princeton Junction (PJ) station is added, it will provide a “one seater” solution to the commute all the way to Princeton Shopping Center and Palmer Square. Of course the bus is slowed by road traffic and competes with the Dinky, but the Dinky cannot meet every incoming train at PJ and frequently riders are left stranded for half an hour when the Dinky connections are missed by a few minutes. Redundancy is a good thing for any successful public transit system.

Second, make the TigerPaww go further than the old Dinky station and stagger the time with the Dinky. If the TigerPaww goes to Palmer Square or Friends Center, it will become a more attractive option. Right now, the TigerPaww leaves at the same time as the Dinky at Princeton Junction which means if one misses the Dinky, he/she misses the TigerPaww as well. If the TigerPaww can leave half way between two Dinky runs, it will become much more useful for the riders.

Third, Princeton should look into a bike sharing program like the one that is sweeping the U.S. now. Princeton should be an ideal place where local residents, students, and commuters can pick up a bike when one misses Dinky, FreeB, or NJT buses. For this purpose, Princeton Junction should be one of the bike sharing stations. Even though it is too much to ask to improve the bike path from Princeton Junction into Princeton, the bike ride is currently workable and quite a few residents do ride their bikes all the way. A bike sharing program will allow commuters to mix bike riding and public transit in different weather and scheduling situations.

Yong Ren

Franklin Avenue