NEWARK, NJ - In recognition of the 250^th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, NJ TRANSIT has announced a statewide student art competition to design bus graphics by creating original artwork celebrating America's milestone birthday, while highlighting New Jersey's contributions to our nation's history. Two winning designs - one from North Jersey and one from South Jersey - will be selected, with the artwork featured on NJ TRANSIT buses traveling statewide throughout the year. This initiative combines creativity, education and civic pride while engaging students directly in a historic statewide celebration.

The competition is open to New Jersey high school students working through their school's History and Art departments, either individually or in teams, with each school submitting one final design. The winning schools' artwork will be transformed into full NJ TRANSIT bus wraps and displayed on buses traveling across New Jersey throughout 2026. Submissions must incorporate required NJ TRANSIT branding and "America 250" or "250^th Anniversary" language, and will be judged on visual impact, historical relevance, storytelling, and scalability to a 40-foot bus.

Schools must submit one final artwork file, a brief artist statement explaining the historical inspiration and approach to the design and a list of participating students. The artwork must be submitted by a teacher advisor designated by the school via email, or through the official NJ TRANSIT submission portal. Entries must be received by March 22; late submissions will not be accepted.

For more information and details on the contest, and a link to the submission portal, please visit our website here - https://www.njtransit.com/buswrap

About NJ TRANSIT

NJ TRANSIT is the nation's largest statewide public transportation system providing more than 925,000 weekday trips on 264 bus routes, three light rail lines, 12 commuter rail lines and through Access Link paratransit service. It is the third largest transit system in the country with 165 rail stations, 62 light rail stations and more than 19,000 bus stops linking major points in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia.

This document and others are available for translation on njtransit.com.