Private bus operator Boxcar Inc. aims to ramp up service as a potential New Jersey Transit rail workers strike threatens to strand commuters as early as May 16.Boxcar, which currently shuttles about 2,

With a potential NJ Transit train strike coming as early as May 16, the agency’s head gave no indication Tuesday that management and the agency’s union are any closer to a deal — claiming train engineers are now asking for even higher salaries than the ones NJ Transit has balked at agreeing to for months.

New Jersey Transit officials and labor-union representatives left wage negotiations without a deal on Monday, making a strike in less than two weeks more likely.