This is a primer on transportation to the Holmes Lab on Rutgers New Brunswick Campus. This is for lab members or collaborators who are planning on coming in person to Rutgers by taking public transport.

Getting to New Brunswick

TRAINS

Trains can be taken from many cities in and around New Jersey. NJ Transit trains run to New Brunswick Station – Albany Street Station. NJ transit tickets can be purchased at stations or on the NJ Transit app. From the New Brunswick station, the Holmes Lab can be reached by the Rutgers Bus system, biking, walking or hiring a Lyft or Uber. Amtrak trains also run to New Brunswick station. Amtrak tickets can be purchased on the Amtrak app or website.

Getting to CAHBIR

RUTGERS BUS / SHUTTLE SYSTEM

General Info Shuttle name: “Rutgers bus system” or “Rutgers Shuttle”. Price: Free, no Rutgers card needed or ID, just walk onto the bus. Location: (on PDF) Around and between the 3 campuses and College Ave. Very helpful since the different campuses have miles between them, so if you need to go to another building, it might take a very long time to walk.

How to use the buses

  • No cost
    1. Download the app from rutgers.passiogo.com
    2. Use the app to see where the stops are for various lines
    3. Use the app to see when the next train comes

How to get from the New Brunswick train station to Holmes Lab (CAHBIR) Take the A or H route from The Yard (40 College Ave, New Brunswick, NJ 08901) to Allison Road Classroom (607 Allison Rd, Piscataway, NJ 08854)

Timing

If the shuttle goes directly from The Yard → Allison Road Classroom (ARC) (Taking the A or H line) the route takes about 15 minutes in my experience. I’ve also only had to wait about 10m max for a bus. It takes me about 6 minutes to get off the train and get to The Yard bus stop, and about 6 min to get from ARC to the lab. Which is in total 27-40 minutes of transit from the station!

If you’re at the train station:

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Closest bus stop to CAHBIR:

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Full Schedule

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The location of the stops/routes can be viewed through the app Passio Go (rutgers.passiogo.com). I’ve used all a lot to get around. The stop names are mostly buildings, so you can look up the names of the stops and see on google maps where the stop is. (I’ve added in the rough location of our lab on the PDF map, for context). Or, you can look at the Passio Go app.

Summer, Rutgers University Breaks or Weekends During these times, the buses run a different schedule. They come every ~20 mins. You should take “Summer 1” / “Weekend 1” from train station -> Allison Road Classroom stop. Then on the way back, take “Summer 2” / “Weekend 2” from Allison Road Classroom -> The Yard.

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First time riders: The shuttle system does have some confusing parts (the bus stops are not always marked, so it’s also hard to know which stop you’re at sometimes. Also, sometimes one ‘stop’ name will actually have multiple stops in that location, and you have to be at the right one for your route, but they are unmarked). If you’re taking it for the first time, I would give yourself ample time, ~1hr, to get from the train station to the lab.

Passio Go app has a bus tracker, which will tell you when the next bus is coming to a certain stop, which is supremely helpful. Once you click on a route, you have to choose a stop. But once you choose a stop, it will tell you all the buses coming to that stop, not just the ones from the line you’ve selected, which is also helpful.

Note: The passiogo tracker occiasionally loses buses, meaning one that is scheduled may not come, or suddenly a bus may appear coming in 5m to a stop. However, it’s mostly reliable.

Identifying Rutgers Buses:

  • The buses don’t all look the same or have specific markings on the outside.
  • Buses range from minibuses (15-30 passengers) to full-size buses.
  • Buses will either have LED displays of the Route # on the front or side of the bus, or a printed Route # taped to the inside of their front window.

UBER

Taking a rideshare service like Uber or Lyft from the train station is also an available option. The cost is around ~$12 to get to the lab from the train station, or between campuses. The ride from New Brunswick Station - Albany Street to the Holmes Lab is about 10 minutes.

BIKING

Attached is a biking map published by Rutgers University about biking options on the New Brunswick campus
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