The New Jersey Legislature passed the New Jersey Public Transportation Act of 1979 in July 1970, creating NJ Transit to “acquire, operate and contract for transportation service in the public interest.”
In 1980, NJ Transit bought Transport of New Jersey, the state’s largest private bus company, a purchase that also included the Newark City Subway. NJ Transit Rail Operations launched on January 1, 1983, to assume operations of commuter rail service in the state after Congress ordered Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) to cease its passenger operations.
