From PATH’s record-breaking 2011 to striking ridership gains in South Jersey’s PATCO system, the region’s use of transit has made headlines of late.

Now, NJ Future is reporting an even greater trend towards transit commuting among New Jersey workers. Here are their key findings:

• The percent of New Jersey commuters (people not working at home) who ride transit to work increased between 2000 and 2010 — from 9.6 percent to 11.2 percent.
• While New Jersey’s total workforce has risen by 4.6 percent in this 10-year period, the number of transit commuters has increased by 20.9 percent.
• Nationally, New Jersey is second only to New York in the percentage of its commuters who ride transit.

NJ Future also reported that the number of New Jersey bus commuters grew by 21.8 percent between 2000 and 2010, while the number of rail commuters increased by 17.9 percent. Although the percentage of commuters that carpool to work dropped, there was no corresponding increase in commuters that drove alone.

Despite the surge in transit commuting, New Jersey may not respond with the funds necessary to support a healthy public transportation system. In recent years, the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) has shown a shrinking commitment to transit in its capital programs, and a recent draft of NJDOT’s capital program for the 2013 fiscal year once again showed a slight reduction in transit funding.