The accident happened around 7:30 a.m. near mile-marker 97 in Linden and left several passengers injured, including some who had to be extricated from the bus.
The bus remained on the roadway for several hours, shutting down all northbound lanes. The highway fully reopened around 1 p.m.
The bus, operating on the number 63 line between Lakewood and Lincoln Harbor, had 61 passengers on board. Ten of them were hospitalized with injuries ranging from broken bones to cuts and bruises. Officials say two people suffered life-threatening injuries, but both are expected to survive.
The injured were rushed to the nearest trauma center, University Hospital in Newark.
New Jersey Transit said that uninjured passengers were put on another bus and taken to their original destination in Weehawken.
All of the injured were on the bus, which authorities deemed was not at fault for the crash.
Officials say the bus was in the left HOV lane when one tractor trailer in the right-center lane made a lane change into the left lane, lost control and struck another tractor trailer. That caused the chain-reaction crash.
No charges have been filed at this time, and the accident remains under investigation.