WSJ article regarding the PABT problems we all know about

Nearly every decision Stephen Napolitano makes during the evening rush hour reverberates for miles.

If Mr. Napolitano, the general manager of the Lincoln Tunnel and the Port Authority Bus Terminal, can get buses loaded, through the giant spiral inside the building and headed back to New Jersey without delay, traffic in and around the Lincoln Tunnel will keep moving.

If he can't, things fall apart quickly. Traffic backs up for miles on Northern New Jersey highways that lead to the Lincoln Tunnel's eastbound entrance. Buses are forced to circle on the surface streets of Manhattan's West Side. And lines of would-be passengers grow longer inside the bus terminal.

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Wall Street Journal article re NJT and GSP toll hikes

"The increases come at a time when the authority is already struggling with its finances. Toll revenue was $47 million lower than projected as of October 2011, a drop that the agency attributed to steep gas prices, unemployment and severe weather, according to authority financial statements."

We wonder how much additional traffic they will lose with this toll hike.

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Time vs. tolls: East Brunswick to Jersey City

NY Times article on driving from East Brunswick Holiday Inn to Jersey City.

Which way is faster: NJ Turnpike or Rt 1 and by how much?
 
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Chinese bus that takes 300 passengers

This is supposed to be biggest bus in the world.

It is double articulated and has 5 doors and is 82 feet long.

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Commutes by town

Map of commutes by town for NJ.

12.2% of East Brunswick commutes by mass transit, presumably primarily by bus and to New York and the "Gold Coast" are just across the Hudson River from New York.   

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NJ Transit Annual Report

Link to NJ Transit Annual Report

Star Ledger: New Year gift from the N.J. Turnpike Authority: Higher tolls

For the drivers who make 600 million trips a year on the Parkway and Turnpike, the New Year brings one thing that is unlikely to make any of them happy: A toll hike.

As of today, there will be a 53 percent toll hike on the Turnpike and 50 percent increase on the Parkway. Beginning at 6:30 a.m., the average passenger vehicle toll will rise from $2.20 to $3.30 on the Turnpike and 70 cents to $1.05 on the Parkway.

The average truck toll will increase from $7.95 to $12.15 on the Turnpike and $1.40 to $2.15 on the Parkway.

A passenger vehicle trip from Turnpike Exit 14 in Newark to Exit 9 in East Brunswick will jump from $2.85 to $4.35.

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NJ Biz: After end of ARC, NJ Transit focuses on privatizing parking, expanding rail lines

Does anyone have any question what this means regarding NJ Transit parking: "It's very clear that we need to be able to generate other forms of revenue besides the fare increases," Weinstein said at the event, at Forsgate Country Club, in Monroe."

Count the ways they have raised costs on commuters over just the last few years. It is a pretty impressive list. Most increases are will into double digit percentages with 50% not unusual.

Commuter Parking Advisory Committee
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The halting of the ARC rail tunnel project last year has allowed NJ Transit to focus on areas such as customer service, expanding existing rail lines and finding alternative revenue sources, the head of the agency told business leaders Friday.

Executive Director Jim Weinstein said the agency is currently in a 14-month process of studying how to privatize or outsource the state's nearly 100 parking facilities. The initiative has drawn interest from several firms and parking operators, along with members of the banking industry, Weinstein said at a New Jersey Chamber of Commerce roundtable breakfast on transportation.

"It's very clear that we need to be able to generate other forms of revenue besides the fare increases," Weinstein said at the event, at Forsgate Country Club, in Monroe.
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Asbury Park Press: Cost of travel going up on Parkway, Turnpike

If they raise the tolls some more, how many more jobs can they create?

Commuter Parking Advisory Committee

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WOODBRIDGE — Are newly paved roads, rebuilt bridges and widened highways worth the 50 percent to 53 percent toll increases that take effect Sunday?

Before the economic crash in 2008, New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway drivers might have deemed the New Year’s Day toll increase worth it, for the $7 billion in construction projects it funds. Turnpike Authority officials said it will create 70,000 jobs.

But with a struggling economy, high unemployment and stagnant salaries, some drivers said they may opt out of using the toll road where and when they can take a parallel, free, state highway.

John McKeever of Hazlet is among those who are considering changing their routes to a free road such as Route 35, even though it may cost him more time than the Parkway.

link to full article

Star Ledger article regarding reduction in commuter tax benefit as of 1/1/12

In what could amount to a hidden fare hike for more than 100,000 mass transit riders from New Jersey, the federal commuter tax benefit is being reduced from $230 to $125 a month beginning Sunday.

A commuter earning $50,000 a year and spending $230 per month on transit would pay more than $400 extra in 2012 through the rollback.

"For most, the bad economy has led to small or zero wage increases in the working commuter’s paycheck," said Karl Zielaznicki, an NJ Transit rider who commutes from Aberdeen to Manhattan and pays $278 for a monthly bus pass. "By reducing the amount of the credit, it is nothing but a mindless tax increase on the workers who are keeping our economy growing."

For the past two years, workers have been able to set aside $230 a month in tax-free dollars for commuting. Transit benefits go back about a quarter century, but commuters in 2009 began enjoying a higher benefit as part of the federal stimulus program to give people incentive to use mass transit and put dollars back into the pockets of commuters.

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