A widely shared video posted by NJ Transit Rude Zone shows passengers enduring violent bouncing and shaking aboard an aging NABI bus traveling at what the account said was about 20 mph.
NEW JERSEY — New Jersey has plenty of places to find a roller-coaster ride, from the boardwalk to Great Adventure. Commuters generally do not expect to get one after swiping onto an NJ Transit bus.
A video posted Saturday by the popular X account NJ Transit Rude Zone shows the interior of an NJ Transit NABI bus bouncing, rattling and shaking hard enough to make an ordinary ride look considerably more suited to an amusement park than public transportation.
The bus appears to be moving along a regular roadway while the camera repeatedly jolts up and down. Loud rattling can also be heard from inside the vehicle.
“Look at this HORRIBLE NJ Transit NABI bus bouncing around inside,” NJ Transit Rude Zone wrote in the post.
The account said the bus was traveling about 20 mph and alleged that many buses of the type have worn or nonexistent shock absorption.
A commute with some serious airtime
Whatever is happening underneath the vehicle, the effect inside is difficult to miss. Many people on the bus were holding onto the safety rails for dear life in front of their seats.
The camera bucks repeatedly as the bus travels down the road, accompanied by the sound of loose or vibrating interior components. For riders sitting over the suspension and rear axle, even relatively minor roadway imperfections can be much more noticeable on a heavy transit bus.
But the movement shown in Saturday’s video goes well beyond the smooth ride most commuters would expect from a vehicle carrying passengers through New Jersey every day. It’s not just this bus, or this route. It’s New Jersey Transit’s lack of maintenence, disregard for its customers and worse, it’s rude behavior against anyone who criticizes the agency.
The account described the experience as severe enough to raise questions about the condition of the bus and why older equipment remains in regular service and why necessary repairs and maintenance is not being done.
As of Monday morning, NJ Transit had not issued a public response specifically addressing the video or identifying the bus involved.
NABI buses have been carrying New Jersey riders for more than a decade
The buses featured in the video come from a generation of NABI vehicles that became a major part of NJ Transit’s statewide fleet more than a decade ago.
NJ Transit took final delivery of 1,299 NABI suburban and transit buses by fiscal year 2014, according to agency records. The 40-foot buses were deployed across urban and suburban routes throughout New Jersey and replaced an earlier generation of aging vehicles.
Many of those buses are now themselves reaching or exceeding the service life typically expected of heavy-duty transit equipment.
NJ Transit has already begun replacing older buses through a massive fleet modernization program. The agency said in 2025 that it had authorized more than 1,400 new buses representing more than $1.7 billion in investment since 2018.
The agency’s bus modernization program calls for outdated buses and rail cars to be replaced or modernized by 2031.
Rude Zone questions where older buses are being sent
NJ Transit Rude Zone went beyond the condition of the individual bus, alleging that aging NABI vehicles are disproportionately assigned to lower-income communities.
“These NABI buses are sent to the POOREST communities in New Jersey,” the account wrote.
The post tagged NJ Transit along with several state officials.
No evidence establishing a deliberate policy of assigning older buses according to community income was included with the post, and SNN could not independently verify that claim.
NJ Transit operates one of the largest statewide public transportation systems in the country, with buses covering densely populated cities, suburban corridors and long-distance commuter routes.
New buses are coming, but the old fleet is still on the road
NJ Transit has accelerated new bus purchases in recent years as it works through the expensive process of replacing thousands of vehicles.
New Flyer buses began arriving in late 2025 as part of a 175-bus order, while additional purchases approved by the NJ Transit board are expected to gradually push older equipment out of service.
For riders aboard the bus captured by Rude Zone, however, the future of the fleet probably mattered considerably less than what was happening beneath their seats.
We will now await a snarky, typical email from the NJ Transit “pres team”, or as we like to call them, those overpaid twits who run cover for the agency whenever anyone complains about service.
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