[Nexis4Jersey]

New Jersey Transit Ridership Trends Illustrate the Need for More Transit Funding

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Ridership gains were made across transit modes:

Rail

• Average monthly rail passenger trips were at 6.2 million, the highest in two years. Rail also saw its largest quarterly growth in two years (6.1 percent).
• Saturday passenger trips saw the most substantial increase of 13.6 percent when compared to the same period last year.
• Passenger trips to and from New York Penn Station grew by 7.8 percent.

Bus

• Bus ridership increased 4 percent during the first quarter of FY2013 compared with the same period the previous year.
• Sunday passenger trips saw the most substantial increase of 16.3 percent when compared to the same period last year.

The ongoing challenge for NJ Transit is how to address increased transit demand within funding constraints. NJT’s operating expenses outpace operating revenues forcing the agency to transfer dollars from its capital budget to meet its operating needs. This is an unsustainable funding scheme that makes it difficult for NJ Transit to plan for the years of growth ahead. Legislators must find new funding solutions to help ensure NJ Transit can keep pace with the rising demand.

http://blog.tstc.org/2013/01/14/new-...ansit-funding/