Freshman year.
I remember it like it was yesterday. I, along with many other freshman, experienced the typical anxiety that comes with entering college: fears about making friends, joining clubs and picking the right major. But there is one other major source of apprehension for most freshman specific to Rutgers.
The buses.
I was that student who lived on Cook campus but had all of her classes on College Avenue, and was warned at New Student Orientation that the EE buses could be a nightmare. No one told me a REXL never made it to the Biel Road bus stop, and I spent a whole hour waiting near the Cook Campus Center for a bus that was never destined to show. My RA told horror stories about getting on an A in the hopes of ending up on Livingston. I remember me frantically trying to refresh the Rutgers bus app as I stood on an LX, unaware that not getting off at the Quads meant that I was headed back to Cook when I had a class in Beck Hall in ten minutes.
I get it. I’ve been there.
Luckily, the Rutgers buses take little time to get used to, and if you’re currently in a similar position as I was my freshman year, I’m here to tell you that you will adjust and get the hang of them in no time. But I’m here to make your life a little bit easier by pooling all of the resources students are given about bus routes, along with my personal experiences, to create the ultimate Rutgers bus guide.
In general…
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The Knight Mover — 732-932-RIDE (7433)
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Call the Knight Mover for transportation after regular buses stop running (between 3 a.m. – 6 a.m.).
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You must show a valid Student ID to board the shuttle.
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Average bus ride is 5-15 minutes
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Rush hour, game day, campus events and road closures can cause bus rides to be upwards of half an hour, so allocate time properly!
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Specific campuses…
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LX – Livingston ←→ College Avenue
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Livingston Campus stops: Livingston Plaza → Livingston Student Center → Quads →
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College Ave Campus stops: College Avenue Student Center → Scott Hall → Student Activities Center →
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One of the most frequent buses you’ll see.
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Takes route 18 to get from Livingston to College Ave and vice versa.
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The Livingston Plaza, Scott Hall, and the Student Activities Center tend to usually be the most crowded stops on this route, so I recommend going to the College Ave Student Center and getting on the bus there if you’re on College Ave, and trying to plan for an earlier bus if you’re on Livingston Campus.
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B – Livingston ←→ Busch
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Livingston Campus stops: Livingston Plaza → Livingston Student Center → Quads →
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Busch Campus stops: Werblin Back Entrance → Hill Center → Science Buildings → Library of Science and Medicine → Busch Suites → Busch Student Center →
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Usually looks like two buses extended into one with a connector piece.
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Get off at the Science buildings and walk across the street to the Allison Road Classrooms if you have a class in ARC.
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Get off at Hill Center if you have a class in the Science and Engineering Resource Center.
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The Livingston Plaza and Busch Student Center tend to usually be the most crowded stops on this route, so I recommend walking across Busch and getting on at an earlier stop when the bus is less crowded and trying to plan for an earlier bus if you’re on Livingston Campus.
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B/He – Livingston ←→ Busch
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Livingston Campus stops: Livingston Plaza → Livingston Student Center → Quads → Livingston Health Center →
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Busch Campus stops: Werblin Back Entrance → Hill Center → Science Buildings → Library of Science and Medicine → Busch Suites → Busch Student Center →
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Basically the B bus with an additional stop after the quads at the Livingston Health Center (last stop on Livingston Campus before it gets onto Route 18 and heads to College Avenue, so if you miss the quads bus stop, you still have a stop to get off at on Livingston)!
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A – Busch ←→ College Avenue
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Busch Campus stops: Visitor Center → Stadium → Werblin Back Entrance → Hill Center → Science Building → Library of Science and Medicine → Busch Suites → Busch Student Center → Buell Apartments → Werblin Main Entrance
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College Ave Campus stops: College Ave Student Center → Scott Hall → Student Activities Center →
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If you’re on College Ave, this will lead you to the academic portion of the campus first (classrooms) as opposed to the Busch Student Center and housing ⇒ ACADEMIC.
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So if you need to get to an actual classroom (Hill Center, Science Building, Library of Science and Medicine), this route will go to these places first.
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Get off at Hill Center if you have a class in the SERC.
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Gym is first stop.
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Get off at the Science Building if you need to get to ARC.
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Get off at the Busch Suites if you are headed to Davidson Hall.
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Stops running early, need to take an H.
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Hill Center, Busch Student Center, Scott Hall, and the Student Activities Center tend to usually be the most crowded stops on this route, so I recommend going to the College Ave Student Center and getting on the bus there if you’re on College Ave, and getting on at the earliest stop if possible (Hill Center or the Stadium), and allocating enough time in case a bus comes and it’s too crowded.
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H – Busch ←→ College Avenue
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Busch Campus stops: Visitor Center → Stadium → Werblin Back Entrance → Hill Center → Allison Road Classrooms → Library of Science and Medicine → Davidson Hall → Busch Student Center
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College Ave Campus stops: College Ave Student Center → Scott Hall → Student Activities Center →
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Housing, Busch Student Center/dining hall first ⇒ HOME.
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Hits gym first.
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Get off at Hill Center if you have a class in the SERC.
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Always will run while buses are in service.
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Get off at the ARC if you need to get to the Science Building.
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Get off at Davidson Hall if you are headed to the Busch Suites.
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The same stops from the A route also tend to be the most crowded on the H route.
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REXB – Busch ←→ Cook/Douglass
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Busch Campus stops: Hill Center → Allison Road Classrooms → Hill Center
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Cook/Douglass Campus stops: Public Safety Building South → Red Oak Lane → Lipman → College Hall →
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Does not hit Biel Road or Food Sciences bus stops, so if you’re living in any of the dorms or apartments on Cook, you will not be able to get on at these bus stops.
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You CAN take an F/EE to College Hall, and then take a REXB from there.
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Or you can walk to either College Hall, Lipman, Red Oak Lane, or the Public Safety Building South and go directly to Busch.
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Get off at Hill Center if you have a class in the SERC.
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On Busch, the bus will go to Hill Center, then will loop back around to ARC, and Hill Center again before heading back to Cook/Douglass.
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College Hall and both Hill Center Stops tend to usually be the most crowded stops on this route, so I recommend, if at Cook, getting on at Lipman Hall if possible, and getting on at the first Hill Center stop on Busch.
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C – Busch Commuter Loop
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Busch Campus stops: Allison Road Classroom → Hill Center → Stadium → Science Building →
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Never leaves Busch campus — travels between the football stadium and Busch classrooms, is convenient for commuters ⇒ Commuters.
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Stops running early, will need to take H from classrooms to get to the stadium.
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Commuter Loop Buses tend to be the least crowded, so any stop is okay to get on, but plan accordingly for when the C stops running — H buses tend to get especially crowded at night when both the A and C stop running.
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REXL – Livingston ←→ Cook/Douglass
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Livingston Campus stops: Livingston Plaza → Livingston Student Center →
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Cook/Douglass Campus stops: Public Safety Building South → Read Oak Lane → Lipman → College Hall →
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Like the REXB, REXL goes to Livingston → loops at Lipman, does not hit Biel Road, Food Sciences.
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Does not go to the Quads → Livingston Student Center is the last stop.
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Livingston Plaza and College Hall tend to usually be the most crowded stops on this route, so I recommend going to Lipman or Read Oak Lane if possible on Cook/Douglass, and trying to plan for an earlier bus if you’re on Livingston Campus.
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F – Cook/Douglass ←→ College Avenue
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Cook/Douglass Campus stops: Public Safety Building South → Red Oak → Lipman → Food and Science Building → Biel Road → Henderson → Katzenbach → New Gibbons → College Hall → Public Safety Building North → Liberty Street → Paterson Street →
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College Ave Campus stops: Student Activities Center → College Ave Student Center → Scott Hall →
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Will stop running early and then you must take a EE later at night.
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F takes route 18, which will get you between campuses quicker.
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Biel Road, College Hall, College Ave Student Center, and Scott Hall tend to usually be the most crowded stops on this route, so I recommend going to Red Oak Lane if possible on Cook/Douglass, and getting on at the Student Activities Center if on College Ave.
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EE – Cook/Douglass ←→ College Avenue
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College Avenue Campus stops: Train Station at Somerset Street→ Zimmerli Arts Museum → Student Activities Center → College Avenue Student Center → Scott Hall → Train Station at George Street
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George Street/Cook/Douglass Campus stops: Paterson Street → Rockoff Hall → Public Safety Building South → Red Oak Lane → Lipman Hall → Food Science Building → Biel Road → Henderson → Katzenbach → New Gibbons → College Hall → Public Safety Building North → Liberty Street → Paterson Street
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EE goes from Cook/Douglas to College Ave, but takes George Street (additional stops that the F does not have).
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Slower than the F because it’s not taking the highway → traffic lights, more stops.
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The same stops from the F route also tend to be the most crowded on the EE route.
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Weekends, Winter Break and Summer…
- Weekend 1/Weekend 2
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The weekend buses typically run on Saturdays and Sundays. For a more in-depth layout of each stop, check out the Institutional Planning and Operations’ maps for route 1 and route 2, which run the same schedule under different names during winter and summer breaks.
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Weekend 1 Campus Order → College Ave → Busch → Livingston → Cook
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Weekend 2 Campus Order → College Ave → Cook/Douglas → College Ave → Livingston → Busch
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Helpful resources…
And there you have it, your one stop guide for navigating the Rutgers buses. College can bring on a lot of anxiety for some people, and Rutgers has many resources to help assuage those nerves. I hope this becomes one of them, and I hope this eases any of your anxieties regarding Rutgers buses.
Have a safe and successful semester!