NJ Transit’s second quarterly “Scorecard” results are in, and they aren’t anything to brag about. The agency’s overall score rose from 5.2 to 5.3 on a scale of 1 to 10, which NJ Transit still describes as “satisfactory” or “acceptable.” [...]]]>

Ratings on NJ Transit's second quarterly customer scorecard haven't changed much compared to the first scorecard.

NJ Transit’s second quarterly “Scorecard” results are in, and they aren’t anything to brag about. The agency’s overall score rose from 5.2 to 5.3 on a scale of 1 to 10, which NJ Transit still describes as “satisfactory” or “acceptable.” “Fares” and “on-time performance” remain the areas most frequently identified as in need of improvement system-wide. They are also the areas the agency has the least control over, pointing to the need for state policymakers to step up support for transit.

While light rail, bus, and Access Link (paratransit) all saw small improvements in overall customer satisfaction, rail scores dropped from 4.5 to 4.2.  This does not come as a shock as rail commuters suffered through significant delays over the past two months due to electrical problems, equipment problems and most notably an Amtrak derailment in one of the Hudson River tunnels that brought the entire region to a screeching halt.

Another data point from the survey getting a lot of attention is the overwhelming demand for increased bus service out of the Lincoln Tunnel during the evening rush. Commuters are looking for an increase in bus services during the weekday PM peak and on weekday evenings, suggesting the need for an express bus lane in the evenings, which TSTC has long called for.

Investment in mass transit must be a priority and is key in resolving this transit debacle.  But funding for transit is shrinking.  In 2004, almost half of the state’s transportation capital budget went to mass transit.  This year, NJ Transit is lucky to see a third. Don’t expect much improvement in on-time performance or service disruptions until this changes.

Almost 15,000 customers responded to the survey online and on transit vehicles during the summer months. Click here to sign up to take the current survey online. The agency is also holding listening sessions starting today.

Photo: Gasgoo.com

Multiple news outlets have reported that Port Authority Executive Director Chris Ward will resign by the end of October, after 3 years of leading the agency. During his tenure, Ward kept agency budgets lean and took control of the World Trade Center rebuilding efforts. As Tri-State’s executive director Kate Slevin told the [...]]]>

Ward.

Multiple news outlets have reported that Port Authority Executive Director Chris Ward will resign by the end of October, after 3 years of leading the agency. During his tenure, Ward kept agency budgets lean and took control of the World Trade Center rebuilding efforts. As Tri-State’s executive director Kate Slevin told the NY Times, Ward also “made a very strong and convincing case for more investment in our infrastructure.”

One recent example of that was a bold speech Ward gave at a NY Building Congress luncheon this summer. For years, transportation infrastructure has been on the decline: bridges are deficient, roads are crumbling, transit systems are aging.  Ward candidly compared the foibles of recent years with the marvels of the Progressive Era (when Grand Central, the subway system, and the underground water network were built). He lamented the passing of an era of bold innovation driven by courageous decision makers who understood the long-term implications of the decisions.  Too many of today’s leaders have kicked the can down the road and left future generations to deal with the consequences, and made it a struggle just to maintain existing infrastructure. Ward said:

The Port Authority recently sought to significantly raise its tolls and fares… In an instant, we became subsumed in the political environment I have been describing – one with little capacity to support the investment our region’s economic backbone so desperately needs.

By the end of it, we emerged with a ten-year capital plan that in some ways is all too modest – one that keeps our transportation network in a state of good repair to be sure, but not one that expands it in any transformative way. That agenda was unthinkable in this environment. […]

Unfortunately, you cannot always do more with less. Sometimes you must simply do more. And until that reality becomes part of our political conversation, we will be playing catch up with the rest of the world.

In the last few years, the nation’s biggest transit project (the Access to the Region’s Core rail tunnel) was cancelled, riders of the nation’s largest transit agency (the MTA) have twice faced the prospect of “doomsday” budgets, transportation construction programs in New York and New Jersey have been patched up with duct tape, the Lake Champlain Bridge in upstate NY had to be blown up after it was found unsafe, and lack of maintenance directly contributed to rail shutdowns in the winter (Metro-North’s New Haven line) and summer (NJ Transit and Amtrak derailments and electrical problems, LIRR switch failures). At the federal level, it often seems as if the best case scenario is the status quo, with massive cuts the only other option.

The financial and political environment hasn’t stopped all progress. But Ward is right to worry about the consequences of continued neglect. Let’s hope the next wave of transportation leaders is thinking about those consequences too.

The passing of a relatively obscure bureaucratic deadline was another reminder of how badly improvements to the cross-Hudson transit system are needed. Yesterday the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, [...]]]>

Crowds at NYC's Penn Station after a derailment on NJ Transit. Frequent delays on cross-Hudson transit hurt the region's productivity and quality of life.

The passing of a relatively obscure bureaucratic deadline was another reminder of how badly improvements to the cross-Hudson transit system are needed. Yesterday the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, which approves federal transportation funding in northern NJ, closed comments on its draft Transportation Improvement Program, a list of federally funded projects. One of the biggest changes between this TIP and the previous one? The formal removal of the Access to the Region’s Core rail tunnel, which would have added two tracks between NYC and New Jersey, doubling NJ Transit rail service. The badly needed tunnel was, of course, canceled last year by NJ Governor Chris Christie. There seems to be disappointingly little urgency to address the choked cross-Hudson transit commute.

In the aftermath of the ARC Tunnel’s death, two new rail tunnel concepts appeared — Amtrak’s “Gateway Tunnel” to provide new tracks for Amtrak and NJ Transit, and an extension of NYC’s No. 7 subway line to Secaucus, NJ. But Amtrak’s tunnel looks to be a long way off given the current state of federal politics, with House Republicans aiming to starve transportation and privatize the national rail system. And Crain’s Insider recently reported that “talk of extending the No. 7 train to Secaucus has quieted.”

Even if such projects had broad political support, they would likely be decades in the making. ARC had been planned and studied for 20 years when it was canceled.

A nearer-term hope for cross-Hudson transit has been improving and expanding bus travel, which 315,000 people rely on daily. But a bus garage on NYC’s West Side that is essential to this effort has again been pushed back after the Port Authority’s proposed capital plan was reduced last week, along with its proposed toll and fare increases. The trimmed-down capital plan includes some projects needed for bus improvements, like a reconstruction of the “helix” road leading into the tunnel on the NJ side. The phasing in of the PATH fare increase also offers some relief for transit riders. But the bus garage is back on an uncertain schedule and will be dependent on a public-private partnership, as Times Herald-Record columnist Judy Rife points out:

“This should be a big deal when you already have 315,000 people using buses every single day and a terminal and a tunnel at or near capacity,” said Veronica Vanterpool at the Tri-State Transportation Campaign.

The garage would give NJ Transit, Short Line and other companies a place to park their buses between the morning and evening rush and have them at the ready for their homeward-bound customers.

Now, they’re forced to park them in Weehawken and Jersey City and bring them back through the Lincoln Tunnel empty — by the hundreds, in traffic that’s bad enough without buses — and pay the toll again, a toll that soars to $10 from $4 in September. [...]

Of course, all these buses can’t fit into the PABT at the same time, so they circle, circle, circle the streets in [Manhattan Community Board 4 member Christine] Berthet’s neighborhood until there is room at the inn.

As Rife notes, bus delays in the evening are so common that many commuters who take the bus into NYC in the morning opt for the train on the way home. But train riders have faced their own issues, with derailments, electrical problems, and other snafus leading to hours of delay this summer. (It’s not as if this is an unusually bad summer, either; last July and August NJ Transit trains were hit with major delays almost weekly.)

Photo: WCBS 880/Marla Diamond.

Today, the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey announced a fare increase of $1 on the PATH line and a toll [...]]]> Tri-State Transportation Campaign Executive Director Kate Slevin issued the following statement after the Port Authority announced steep fare and toll increases on the PATH rail system and its bridges and tunnels:

Today, the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey announced a fare increase of $1 on the PATH line and a toll increase of $4 for EZ Pass and $7 for cash payers on all six of its crossings. This increase is not surprising given the financial pressure put on the Port Authority’s budget by NJ Governor Chris Christie and NY Governor Andrew Cuomo. Instead of finding new and steady revenue streams to pay for growing transportation infrastructure needs in each state, both Governors want to use the Port Authority as a piggy bank.

For several years, the Authority adjusted its budget to reflect difficult economic times. In 2009, the agency scaled down its multi-year capital program by $5 billion. The Port Authority’s executive director, Chris Ward, implemented many internal and project cost efficiencies, even delivering a zero-growth 2011 budget that continued key projects, such as the World Trade Center redevelopment.

Yet, the recent pressures from both New York and New Jersey put the Authority’s finances in a precarious situation. Governor Christie is relying on the Port to contribute $1.8 billion to pay for road and bridge projects that should be paid for by the state’s bankrupt transportation capital program. The Governor canceled one of the country’s most worthy transit projects, the ARC commuter rail tunnel, so he could redirect Port Authority’s monies for that project to his state’s transportation program. Governor Cuomo is banking on $380 million in Port Authority funds to help pay for the remaining three years (2012-2014) of the MTA’s capital program. The MTA has been struggling financially for years in the absence of a sustainable, reliable revenue source such as congestion pricing for the Manhattan core.

PATH transit riders will be especially hard hit with a 57% fare increase. After NJTransit service cuts and a 22% fare increase were implemented in 2010, PATH ridership increased. To soften the impact on transit riders, the Authority should scale back the proposed fare increase.

New Jersey has its hand in the Port Authority’s right pocket, and New York is ready to take from its left. The result is this proposal.

The increases would fund several important projects, such as a bus garage connected to the Port Authority Bus Terminal that would relieve traffic in NYC and New Jersey, and a replacement of the Lincoln Tunnel helix.

The Port Authority has announced several public hearings on August 16 — more details available here.

[Update 6/6: A spokesperson for Gov. Cuomo tells Crain's Insider, in its Friday edition, that "There are no plans to replace Chris Ward at this time."]

An anonymously sourced story in Friday’s New York Post said that Port Authority executive director Chris Ward will be asked to step down after the 9/11 [...]]]>

Ward.

[Update 6/6: A spokesperson for Gov. Cuomo tells Crain's Insider, in its Friday edition, that "There are no plans to replace Chris Ward at this time."]

An anonymously sourced story in Friday’s New York Post said that Port Authority executive director Chris Ward will be asked to step down after the 9/11 memorial is dedicated on the tenth anniversary of the attacks this fall.

Governor Cuomo should keep Chris Ward in his post.  Ward is an innovative leader who has started new green freight programs and projects, implemented a bicycle policy, and spoken in favor of increased infrastructure investment.  Streetsblog has a nice summary of his many accomplishments. Ward has also ably managed the World Trade Center’s rebuilding process and has cut costs at the agency.

Governor Christie has requested using more than $1.5 billion in Port Authority funds previously designated for the ARC tunnel for road projects in the port district. Insiders wonder whether Governor Cuomo will make a similar request to help plug budget deficits at the MTA and NYS Department of Transportation.

When reached for comment by the Post, Ward said that “My record speaks for itself, and I am not going to speculate on the political aspects of the job.”

Photo: Via Port Authority of New York & New Jersey.

An article in last week’s Wall Street Journal indicated a dire need to do something about the Port Authority Bus Terminal, which has reached its capacity, as TSTC has pointed out in reports and videos. But New [...]]]>

Limited capacity at the Port Authority Bus Terminal translates into congestion in New Jersey and on local NYC streets.

An article in last week’s Wall Street Journal indicated a dire need to do something about the Port Authority Bus Terminal, which has reached its capacity, as TSTC has pointed out in reports and videos. But New Jersey’s plan to divert over $1.5 billion in Port Authority money would make it much harder to fund projects to relieve the crowded terminal and reduce congestion on NJ highways and NYC streets.

The Port Authority Bus Terminal accomodates about 6,000 buses that travel underneath the Hudson River every day. Those buses account for 225,000 passenger trips each day — mostly New Jersey residents commuting to and from Manhattan. In the mornings, NY-bound buses wait in the Lincoln Tunnel, on its approaches, and on ramps leading into the terminal until gates open up. During the day, the buses go back to New Jersey (empty) because there are no available gates to park. These same buses then return to Manhattan (empty) to pick up commuters and go back to New Jersey. The terminal is so busy that in the evenings, buses are diverted to Manhattan streets — like planes circling the runway — to make way for other buses . About one in 10 NJ Transit buses leave the terminal at least six minutes late between 3:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Money that had been dedicated to the cancelled ARC rail tunnel could go to improvements like a second Manhattan-bound bus lane through the Lincoln Tunnel in the morning, a westbound bus lane during evening rush hours, additional NJ Transit buses, a bus garage on the West Side of Manhattan where buses could park, and a reconstructed Lincoln Tunnel helix. In fact, Port Authority executive director Chris Ward put improvements to the bus terminal “at the top of his list,” according to the Journal.

Not so fast, Port Authority. Enter Governor Christie, who has used the cancellation as an opportunity to get NJ’s hands on this pot of money and bail out the state’s soon-to-be-bankrupt Transportation Trust Fund. Christie’s 5-year transportation funding plan would divert more than $343 million a year of Port Authority money for NJDOT projects.  Principal projects to be funded with Port Authority money originally earmarked for ARC include the repairs to the Pulaski Skyway;  the Route 7 Wittpenn Bridge in Kearny; Route 139 Viaduct; and the Route 1 & 9 Truck Extension known as Portway New Road in Jersey City.

As previously reported in MTR, NJDOT Commissioner Jim Simpson has described PANYNJ’s contributions to the NJ projects as pretty much a done deal.  But the resolution passed during the Authority’s March meeting merely “authorizes” its executive director to “effectuate the Port Authority’s participation” in these projects — or in “suitable replacement projects mutually agreed upon with NJDOT.” That doesn’t indicate a done deal.

To its credit, the Christie administration has committed to increasing bus service in northern New Jersey cities. But it’s missing an opportunity to reduce congestion and improve bus speeds for hundreds of thousands of cross-Hudson commuters.

Photo: Aristide Economopoulos/The Star-Ledger.

Crain’s New York reports that NY Governor Andrew Cuomo will keep MTA Chairman Jay Walder and Port Authority Executive Director Chris Ward in their posts.

That’s good news. Tri-State and other advocates had urged the governor to retain both leaders, both of whom have proved adept at cutting costs while continuing to [...]]]>

Ward.

Crain’s New York reports that NY Governor Andrew Cuomo will keep MTA Chairman Jay Walder and Port Authority Executive Director Chris Ward in their posts.

That’s good news. Tri-State and other advocates had urged the governor to retain both leaders, both of whom have proved adept at cutting costs while continuing to innovate in tough financial times.

In addition, bringing in new leadership at either agency would have been disruptive at a time when cohesion is needed. Transit funding will be a major issue in 2011, since the MTA’s 5-year capital program is unfunded for the 3 years starting in 2012. On the Port Authority side, the Cuomo administration will have to figure out a response to New Jersey’s request for $1.8 billion in Port Authority money for its plan to fund transportation. (As Crain’s points out, keeping Ward also gives the Port Authority the best chance of completing the 9/11 Memorial in time for the tenth anniversary of the attacks).

Photo: Via Port Authority of New York & New Jersey.