JERSEY CITY | PATH Train Ridership Growing Rapidly

[mrnyc]

it looks like the airport path station design is underway, i guess that will get built first eventually, but post-covid the rest is unfunded. afaik no recent news.

[C.]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

I'm a big believer in PATH expansion but with NJTransit I don't think extending past EWR makes much sense.

As a counterpoint, PATH and NJ Rail complement each other when one service inevitably has service disruptions. Secondly, NJ Rail is get for servicing midtown Manhattan while PATH also provides services Downtown and the Financial District. It also a easier transfer point for commuters going to/from Brooklyn.

You saw this pre-pandemic when there was a horde of NJ Transit/Amtrak folks getting off at Newark and transferring to PATH to go to the WTC. The demand is there.

[Busy Bee]

Originally Posted by C.

You saw this pre-pandemic when there was a horde of NJ Transit/Amtrak folks getting off at Newark and transferring to PATH to go to the WTC. The demand is there.

If PA wanted to fund it I wouldn't stand in the way. It would be a challenge squeezing it into the NEC r.o.w. but probably doable. Not to let the air out the balloon but considering how long it's taken them to even begin serious steps towards the stupefyingly obvious extension to EWR, unless an Elizabeth extension was packaged together with tremendous political support I don't see them moving on it.

[Nexis4Jersey]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

I'm a big believer in PATH expansion but with NJTransit I don't think extending past EWR makes much sense.

I think the 1960s proposal which took it past EWR to Midtown Elizabeth then out to Plainfield via the CNJ tracks is a better idea. Given the recent redevelopment boom and the state of local transit being overcrowded, it's needed badly. A Branch to Staten Island should also be built to St. George along the SIRR.

[Nexis4Jersey]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

If PA wanted to fund it I wouldn't stand in the way. It would be a challenge squeezing it into the NEC r.o.w. but probably doable. Not to let the air out the balloon but considering how long it's taken them to even begin serious steps towards the stupefyingly obvious extension to EWR, unless an Elizabeth extension was packaged together with tremendous political support I don't see them moving on it.

The line would have to go under route 27 or use the shelved Newark - Elizabeth LRT route to get around the NEC.

[C.]

Originally Posted by C.

March 2024 Ridership Numbers Just Released

March 2019
Avg. Weekday: 281,605
Saturday: 106,134
Sunday: 69,640

March 2024
Avg. Weekday: 177,646 (63% Recovered)
Saturday: 86,807 (81.8% Recovered)
Sunday: 72,350 (103.9% Recovered)

PATH should not be considered a commuter railroad! Weekend numbers are rising fast. PATH should have normal service instead of weekend service. Numbers would rise even higher.

On the plus side, NIMBYs have lost a credible claim about PATH overcrowding. Tens of thousands of units coming online and still not close to pre-pandemic ridership levels. Might as well keep adding until back up to 300,000 people a day and resume talks of expansion of service.

April 2024

Weekday 182,180
Saturday 104,486
Sunday 80,190

Sunday is at a new high for the month and Saturday has almost fully recovered. Weekday is pathetic.

I reierate PATH should recognize it's not just a commuter railroad and they should invest in weekend service and frequency. Ridership would soar.

[Nexis4Jersey]

9th Street


9th Street

[C.]

Will there ever be a scenario where weekend ridership matches or exceeds weekday service? The fact that we're seeing all time new highs on weekends, while weekdays continue to lag.

[k1052]

Originally Posted by C.

Will there ever be a scenario where weekend ridership matches or exceeds weekday service? The fact that we're seeing all time new highs on weekends, while weekdays continue to lag.

Take the Newark-WTC service to 10 minute headways from 20 on Saturdays and lets find out.

[Nexis4Jersey]

An Eastbound PATH train crossing the Hack Lift Bridge over the Hackensack River in Kearny,New Jersey

[C.]

Nov 2024
Weekday 206,543 (71.2% recovered from pre-pandemic levels)
Saturday 117,930 (New all-time high -109.8% recovered from pre-pandemic levels)
Sunday 87,805 (New all-time high - 113.9% recovered from pre-pandemic levels)

Nov 2019
Weekday 290,130
Saturday 107,375
Sunday 77,076

Weekend ridership continues to soar! The Port Authority must increase weekend service, which will attract even more riders with the increased frequency. (And get rid of the Hoboken layover when heading to 33rd! The ridership is there to justify.)

[Nexis4Jersey]

Fresh Coat of paint and some drainage upgrades at Hoboken...


New Look by Corey Best, on Flickr

[C.]

Originally Posted by k1052

Take the Newark-WTC service to 10 minute headways from 20 on Saturdays and lets find out.

March 2025
Weekday 194,127 (68.9% recovered from pre-pandemic levels)
Saturday 113,235
Sunday 73,379

March 2019
Weekday 281,605
Saturday 106,134
Sunday 69,640

[mrnyc]

^ welp if you want to see the effects of wfh on the workweek and more desire for weekend service, which we all know anecdotally, there it is in real numbers.

[C.]

Originally Posted by mrnyc

^ welp if you want to see the effects of wfh on the workweek and more desire for weekend service, which we all know anecdotally, there it is in real numbers.

Something very interesting will happen over the next few years. Many of those Namdar Group towers in Journal Square, some containing over a thousand units or more, have ZERO parking. I’m proud of Namdar and they City for realizing that there is a segment of the population that doesn’t need the car and will be walking and using public transit to get around.

There is going to be crazy growth in ridership once these buildings get built and become occupied.

There is also going to be induced demand, except for in transit, as the port authority is forced to add more weekend service because of dangerous train overcrowding on the weekends, which it turn, will attract more riders.

[C.]

Weekend ridership for May 2025 sets another all time effort, even with the inane weekend schedule due to repairs. Every new building built along the line, especially ones being built without parking, will force the Port Authority to improve weekend service.

There is no stopping the demand, in spite of the Port Authority’s best efforts.

[C.]

HUGE win for PATH service improvements.

In March, commuters will see Hoboken-World Trade Center line weekday train frequency improve to every six minutes during morning rush hour, a 33% service increase to 10 trains per hour.
Weekend service on the Journal Square-33 St. via Hoboken line will double with trains running every 10 minutes instead of every 20 minutes, between 10 a.m. and 9 p.m.
In May, direct Hoboken to World Trade Center and to 33 St. resumes on weekends for the first time since 2001, eliminating an extra stop on the Journal Square-33 Street line and reducing crowding.
Enhanced late-night Friday service starts in May, with trains every 20 minutes instead of every 40 minutes between 11:30 p.m. Friday and 2 a.m. Saturday on all lines.
Finally, in March 2027, weekday Newark-World Trade Center line frequency will improve to a train every four minutes during morning and evening rush hours, a 25 percent service increase to 15 trains per hour.
Weekend service increases to trains running every 10-15 minutes on the Newark-World Trade Center and Hoboken-World Trade Center lines from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

https://www.nj.com/news/2025/11/historic...-and-fares-will-rise.html?outputType=amp

[mrnyc]

hoboken shoreline redevelopment
vs ny waterways ferries —


https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRLGoISgYX2/?igsh=azF1OGZxOW5kbjRt

[Busy Bee]

Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey

Fresh Coat of paint and some drainage upgrades at Hoboken...



New Look by Corey Best, on Flickr

Would look about a thousand times better with some nice tile on the platform and a vaulted ceiling not covered in hideous conduit-fed asylum lighting and paint the color of aged bone fragment. And what is with the ugly green paint? Why is this so hard?

[mrnyc]

hoboken terminal upgrades —


https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRtjFApDl1x/?igsh=OTJsc3Jia2pmZWFx