The $46 million project is one of several aimed at reducing South Jersey traffic congestion and easing the commute to and from Philadelphia.
A $900 million reconstruction of the I-295/I-76/Route 42 bottleneck and a proposed $1.6 billion, 18-mile light-rail line between Glassboro and Camden are also in the works.
The rapid-bus service could be in full operation by 2020, with some parts phased in before that. Construction could begin in mid-2014.
The rapid-bus system would allow rush-hour buses to travel in dedicated lanes, on highway shoulders and medians, for part of the trip to Philadelphia and would provide 1,800 new parking spaces for commuters in Winslow and Deptford Townships.
Buses would get priority from automated traffic signals to speed their trips. The Avandale-Philadelphia trip is slated to take about 40 minutes.
The plan is for buses to travel a 23-mile main line to Philadelphia from Avandale, in Winslow Township, with a branch that would take riders from Deptford along Route 55 to join the main line at its merger with Route 42.
Stops along the way would have train-style shelters with ticket machines and real-time information about arrivals.
An estimated 6,400 riders would use the route daily by 2035, according to NJ Transit projections. It would cost from $5 million to $10 million a year to operate, planners say.
The plan calls for 26 buses to run at 10- to 15-minute intervals during rush hours from Winslow to a location west of City Hall on Market Street.
The project would expand the existing Avandale park-and-ride lot on Route 536 and add parking lots on College Drive in Winslow and Delsea Drive in Deptford.
Contact Paul Nussbaum at 215-854-4587 or pnussbaum@phillynews.com.
