DeCamp Bus Lines
| USDOT number | MC/MX # | Full legal name |
|---|---|---|
| 86607 | MC-109312 | DeCamp Bus Lines |
DeCamp Bus Lines was a family owned transportation company based in Montclair, New Jersey. In business for 155 years, the company operated charter buses and had several line runs each week to the Wind Creek casino in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Until the spring of 2023, the company also operated a long-running commuter route between a number of North Jersey towns and New York City, with equipment supplied by New Jersey Transit.
History
In 1870, Major Jonathan W. DeCamp started a stagecoach line between Roseland to Newark via the Newark-Mount Pleasant Turnpike (known today as Mt. Pleasant Avenue).[1] Major Jonathan's son, Benjamin, known locally as "Cap", joined his father in 1878 and began a stagecoach route between the General Store and Post Office in Livingston and the Post Office in Orange.[1]
Benjamin's son, Robert, took over the stage line in 1905 after Benjamin's death and started a new route to Caldwell. In 1909, he acquired the company's first motor bus.[1] Proving cumbersome and unreliable, the bus was used as a supplement to the stagecoach.[1] Robert's brother, Ralph, gave up his practice in dentistry and took over the transportation company in 1917.[1] As technology improved Ralph saw the opportunity to purchase new buses which replaced the horse-drawn stagecoaches. By 1923 he had a fleet of eight buses and began offering service between Morristown and Newark. In 1928 service between Orange and New York City began with service between Upper Montclair and New York soon offered.[1]
Ralph established a new central garage in Livingston. It was built in South Livingston Avenue next to the Central School. As the company grew, a new garage was built at 49 West Mt. Pleasant Avenue in 1926.[1] The following year, Ralph's son Robert joined his father and Stuart, Ralph's other son, joined the next year. When Ralph died his two sons along with their mother, Edith, took over the company.[1]
The 1980's saw restructuring and modernizing of the company. Some routes were either sold or dropped and charter service also began to be promoted.[1] Robert DeCamp, Sr., retired in 1991 and passed control of the company to his daughter, Suzanne, and son, Robert, Jr. In November of 1997, Suzanne moved on to other pursuits and Robert, Jr. bought out his sister’s holdings.
On August 10, 2020, DeCamp Bus Lines suspended all service in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw the loss of much of the company's commuter traffic into New York City. Limited charter service resumed in mid-May, 2021, and commuter service was restored on a limited basis on June 14, 2021, using twelve NJT-owned cruisers.
On March 20, 2023, DeCamp Bus Lines announced the discontinuation of the commuter routes from Montclair and other points to New York City, to take effect on April 7, 2023. The company continued to operate its charter buses and casino line runs to Bethlehem using its own fleet of coaches.[2] New Jersey Transit had granted DeCamp the use of 50 of its MCI coaches for the commuter routes (with only eight of those coaches being used by the final month of service), and returned them to NJT. DeCamp Bus Lines was the first private operator in New Jersey to announce a discontinuation of service in 2023, followed by Montgomery & Westside IBOA in July, and Coach USA ONE Bus in September.
On February 3, 2025, DeCamp announced they would shut down operations on February 28, 2025 after 155 years of service.[3] Concurrent with DeCamp's announcement of its closure, Wallington-based operator Panorama Tours announced via a press release that they would be working with existing DeCamp customers to continue service, using an expanded fleet of coaches.[4] Panorama subsequently purchased the six remaining MCI J-series cruisers - four J4500's and two J3500's - from the DeCamp roster.
Facilities
Garage/Office
- Address: 101 Greenwood Ave., Montclair, NJ 07042
- Fax: 973-746-6648
- Phone: 973-783-7500 or 1-800-631-1281
All-Time Roster
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 DeCamp History, decamp.com, retrieved on 2009-09-19
- ↑ DeCamp ends commuter buses to and from New York City for North Jersey routes
- ↑ New Jersey’s oldest bus company to close after 155 years; NJ.com; 3 February 2025 (Archived from the original)
- ↑ Panorama Tours welcomes DeCamp Bus Lines customers, Panorama Tours press release dated February 3, 2025. Retrieved February 18, 2025.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 GM TDHM4507 production list at omot.org, retrieved on 2009-09-22
- ↑ GM TDM4503 production list at omot.org, retrieved on 2009-09-22
- ↑ GM TG4006 production list at omot.org, retrieved on 2009-09-22
- ↑ Yellow TD2705 production list at omot.org, retrieved on 2009-09-22
- ↑ GM TD3206 production list at omot.org, retrieved on 2009-09-22
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 GM TDH4509 production roster at omot.org, retrieved on 2009-09-22
- ↑ GM TDH5108 production list at omot.org, retrieved on 2009-09-22
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 GM TDM5108 production list at omot.org, retrieved on 2009-09-22
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 GM SDM5301 production list at omot.org, retrieved on 2009-09-22
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 GM SDM5302 production list at omot.org, retrieved on 2009-09-22
- ↑ GM TDM5304 production list at omot.org, retrieved on 2009-09-22
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 PD-4900 production records at utahrails.net, retrieved on 2017-10-02
- ↑ GM SDM5303A production list at omot.org, retrieved on 2009-09-22
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 GM S8M5304A production list at omot.org, retrieved on 2009-09-22
- ↑ Bus & Motorcoach News - DeCamp Bus makes history by buying clean-air coaches, decamp.com, retrieved on 2009-09-19
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Flxible 53096 production list at omot.org, retrieved on 2009-09-22