Commuters on the New Jersey Turnpike were faced with major delays Thursday morning when an NJ Transit bus bound for Manhattan erupted into flames. According to NBC New York, the fire was caused by a tire blowout near exit 15x. The incident happened roughly an hour and 15 minutes after the bus departed from Plainfield at 5 a.m., en route to the Port Authority Terminal. Footage from the scene captured the bus fully engulfed by "angry orange flames."
The 49 passengers aboard, along with the bus operator, were able to safely evacuate the vehicle before it was consumed by the fire, leading fortunately to no injuries. To quickly manage the increasing traffic delays, another bus was brought in to accommodate the stranded passengers, as reported by NY Daily News. In response to the upheaval, NJ Transit began cross-honoring tickets with PATH and NJ Transit rail services.
NJ Transit confirmed that the New Jersey State Police are leading the investigation into the exact cause of the fire. Meanwhile, the fire department promptly responded to the emergency, dousing the flames and preventing further hazard. The quick evacuation and passenger safety were a silver lining to an event that could easily have taken a tragic turn.
This blaze is the latest in a string of incidents involving NJ Transit buses. Last August, a smaller fire disrupted traffic in the Lincoln Tunnel, although in that case, the bus remained intact. Earlier in April 2022, a fire in a North Bergen parking lot resulted in the destruction of five buses and damage to two others. Six people were arrested in connection to the parking lot blaze. Thursday's road closure, necessary to quickly to deal with the inferno, mirrored the severe impact that such fires can have on daily transit and commuter schedules.
Traffic slowly returned to normal as the northbound lanes of the Turnpike were reopened, and one southbound lane was briefly closed to address the aftermath of the fiery incident. Commuters were advised to seek alternate routes and expect residual delays as the investigation and cleanup continued.
