REPORTER COMPLAINS THAT EWR 1 SID IS NON SPECIFIC AND LEADS TO CONFUSION.

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OUR FLT WAS FILED AS EWR-MERIT-ORW-V16-WOONS-BOS; AND OUR CLRNC WAS CLRED TO BOS BY THE NEWARK 1 DEP; MERIT; AS FILED; EXPECT 160 IN 10 MINS; DEP ON 127.6 AND SQUAWK XXXX. UPON FOLLOWING THE SID; INITIAL HDG AFTER TKOF WAS 060 EGS AND CLB TO 2500'. DEP THEN ASKED US TO TURN LEFT HDG 040 DEGS AND MAINTAIN 5000'. WE THEN WERE TOLD TO TURN RIGHT HDG 090 DEGS AND INTERCEPT THE TEB 125 DEG R AND TO CLB AND MAINTAIN 9000'. AFTER PASSING THE LGA VOR; WE WERE TOLD TO MAKE AN IMMEDIATE LEFT TURN TO 040 DEGS. WE ASKED IF WE WERE TO INTERCEPT THE LGA 055 DEG R FOR MERIT AND WERE TOLD; 'THAT HAS BEEN DEAD FOR A WK; AND INTERCEPT THE BDR 249 DEG R TO BDR.' THE REMAINDER OF THE FLT WAS ROUTINE. THE NEWARK 1 DEP STATED 'VIA VECTOR TO ASSIGNED ROUTE/FIX.' AND; BECAUSE OF THIS; AFTER INTERCEPTING THE TEB 125 DEG R; WE WERE AWAITING FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS FOR MERIT. ALSO; MERIT INTXN IS DEPICTED FROM 3 DIFFERENT RADIALS WHICH APPEARS AS ONLY THAT AND NOT AS TRANSITION ROUTINGS AS IN OTHER SIDS. THERE IS NO WAY THAT WE COULD HAVE KNOWN TO INTERCEPT THE 249 DEG R INTO BDR FOR SURE. THE NEWARK 1 DEP EITHER NEEDS TO BE DONE OVER WITH THE USE OF TRANSITIONAL ROUTINGS (AS IN OTHER SIDS) TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS NO QUESTION TO THE ROUTING OR ATC WILL HAVE TO GIVE A MORE DETAILED DEP CLRNC (AND BECAUSE OF TIME; THIS IS NOT PRACTICAL).