In New York, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority received a $3 billion budget cut last year, endangering completion of the long-awaited Second Avenue subway. In San Francisco, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission faces $1 billion in budget cuts over the next two years, forcing the agency to scrap seven projects aimed at reducing congestion.
In Washington, D.C., chronic underfunding of maintenance and safety programs at the Metro transit system has contributed to numerous accidents and more than a dozen deaths over the last 33 years, including an electrical problem in January 2015 that killed one passenger and injured more than 80. Earlier this month, the entire subway system was shut down for a day to conduct emergency inspections.
NJ Transit faces similar financial problems. The agency’s current budget diverts $450 million from long-term construction projects, intended to improve safety and reliability, to pay for day-to-day operations. Since the practice started in 1990, governors and legislators of both parties have diverted $6.5 billion, according to NJ Transit.
That’s enough money to build the long-awaited extension of the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail line into Bergen County and contribute to the replacement of the century-old Portal Bridge over the Hackensack River in Kearny as well as the proposed train tunnel under the Hudson River, experts say. All of those projects, which include repairs to parts of Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor line that NJ Transit relies heavily upon, would help the agency accommodate its recent surge in ridership more reliably and safely, said Martin Robins, a former deputy executive director of NJ Transit.
Still, how the funding deficit affects maintenance, performance and system upgrades is a matter of debate among transportation experts. NJ Transit leaders defend the practice, saying it helps the agency maintain its aging fleet and keep trains running on time.
The Port Authority launched a design contest Friday that will pay $1 million to the winner of a competition to replace its overburdened and outdated midtown Manhattan bus terminal.
NEWARK – New Jersey Transit and rail union negotiators have reached a deal to avert a strike ahead of the Sunday deadline.
Hundreds of thousands of New Jersey riders would have been impacted by a strike, which was set to take effect at 12:01 a.m. Sunday.
After nearly nine hours of negotiation Friday, transit union spokesman Steve Burkert came out with other union leaders to announce the deal.
“We have reached a tentative agreement,” he said. “Thankfully for the commuters of NJ Transit the crisis has been averted. We thank our members for having faith in us in solidarity. We’re going home to our families.”
Burkert did not take any questions from the media following the announcement.
Gov. Chris Christie held a news conference soon after the announcement. He reiterated that a deal was reached, but said that it still needed to be ratified by the rail unions involved. He said that he would not discuss the financial details of the agreement until union leaders shared it with their members, but said that it would not require any immediate fare increases.
The major issues that were being negotiated were health care and wage increases. About 4,000 NJ Transit workers had been working without a contract for nearly five years.
NEWARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork) — The clock is ticking towards a possible NJ TRANSIT strike on Sunday.
Leaders representing the 11 rail unions wrapped up talks Thursday with NJ TRANSIT officials at the Hilton Hotel in downtown Newark after taking a day off from negotiations, CBS2’s Meg Baker reported.
NJ TRANSIT negotiator Gary Dellaverson said no announcement of a deal was imminent. He said wages and health care negotiations have yet to be reached, calling agreements “very complicated.”
“I don’t have anything very exciting to say,” Dellaverson said. “What we did this morning, for the last few hours, has been to continue to be precise with one another… as to the areas where there still remain differences between us.”
NJ TRANSIT released a notice Thursday saying that in the case of a strike, all existing positions would be terminated. All employees on sick leave would no longer receive sick leave compensation and insurance positions would be discontinued.
Union members rejected the notice and said it is counterproductive to the negotiating process.
Sen. Robert Menendez said federal negotiators will get involved if they have to, saying “we cannot afford a shutdown.”
The leaders of NJ Transit and its rail unions warned anyone planning to ride trains Saturday night to be home by midnight or make alternate plans, since a lockout or strike could start as early as 12:01 a.m. Sunday.
New Jersey Transit and rail worker unions on Tuesday were closer to a contract agreement to head off a strike than they were a day earlier, a union official said. Associated Press Read more
Basics of dispute
The dispute revolves around a 5-year-old contract stalemate. Unions have demanded a deal similar to the one signed in 2014 by the Long Island Railroad, with an 18-percent pay raise over seven years plus retroactive pay from 2011, when the current contract came up for negotiation. The unions also want a modest increase in employees’ health insurance payments, capped at 2.5 percent of their base salaries.
NJ Transit told the Presidential Emergency Board, which has been mediating the latest discussions, that such a plan would cost the agency an additional $183 million by 2018. In a Feb. 19 letter to New Jersey’s Congressional delegation, NJ Transit said the union proposal was “excessive,” and included “platinum-level health benefits.”
In negotiations Friday, NJ Transit and its rail unions came closer to reaching an agreement in their contract dispute than they have in the last five years, said union leader Steve Burkert. But the two sides still did not settle on a package of pay and health benefits for the agency’s 4,200 rail workers.
The two sides met for negotiations at the National Mediation Board in Washington, D.C. It was the latest round of sometimes-contentious talks that have stretched on for five years. Talks will continue in Newark on Monday, Burkert said.
“We’re getting closer,” said Burkert, general chairman of the United Transportation Union Local 60 and a spokesman for the coalition of 11 unions involved in the talks. “We both gave a little bit on everything. It was a civil and productive meeting.”
Ridgewoood NJ, NJ TRANSIT Rail Operations faces the prospect of a systemwide shutdown should the membership of its rail union opt to participate in a work stoppage. This would result in the complete suspension of NJ TRANSIT rail service, affecting more than 160,000 customers who ride the system on a typical weekday. In the event of such a stoppage,
NJ TRANSIT has developed a contingency plan that would accommodate up to about 38 percent, or about 40,000 seats, of the existing New York-bound customer base.
Regional Park-Ride Service
Park-ride service will operate on a first come, first served basis from five key regional park-ride lots, weekdays only, during four-hour AM inbound (6 a.m. to 10 a.m.) and four-hour PM outbound (4 p.m. to 8 p.m.) peak periods.
MetLife Stadium to Port Authority Bus Terminal, New York
PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel to New York City (Academy Bus)
Hamilton Rail Station to Newark Penn Station for PATH service
Metropark Rail Station to Harrison PATH Station
Ramsey/Route 17 Rail Station to Lincoln Harbor Ferry, Weehawken
No midday, evening, weekend or reverse commute service will operate on these park-ride routes.
Park-ride locations were selected based on their size/parking capacity, access to regional highways, and geographical distribution. Access to area PATH stations and ferry service also was analyzed to minimize congestion at Hudson River crossings.
Enhanced NJ TRANSIT New York Bus Service
NJ TRANSIT will enhance peak period service on 29 existing New York bus routes in close proximity to rail stations. The routes are:
Northeast Corridor: 108, 112, 115 and 129 bus routes
North Jersey Coast Line: 116 and 133/135 bus routes
Raritan Valley Line: 113 and 114X bus routes
Morris & Essex Lines: 107X and 114X bus routes
Montclair-Boonton Lines: 191X and 324 bus routes
Main/Bergen County Lines: 145, 160L, 160T, 160P, 163P, 164SX, 190P/D, 190R, 190X and 192X bus routes
Pascack Valley Line: 151, 162, 163L, 165P, 165R and 165T bus routes
In addition, to accommodate Atlantic City Rail Line customers, NJ TRANSIT will enhance service on the 554 bus route, which operates between Atlantic City and Lindenwold. At Lindenwold, customers can connect with PATCO service to Philadelphia. PATCO will cross honor Atlantic City Rail Line tickets and passes to/from Philadelphia (8th & Market St. Station).
To lessen traffic congestion and delays at the Lincoln Tunnel and to take advantage of the proximity to connecting PATH and ferry service, NJ TRANSIT will make the following service adjustments in the event of a rail stoppage:
The 156R, 158 and 159R bus routes serving the River Road corridor will terminate at the Port Imperial Ferry Terminal in Weehawken on weekdays, enabling cross honoring with connecting NY Waterway ferry service. Weekend service will operate on its regular route to/from New York.
The 126 bus route in Hoboken will operate on a reverse routing on weekday mornings, beginning at Willow Avenue and 19th Street and operating south to Hoboken Terminal for cross honoring with PATH and ferry service. In the evening, the 126 bus route will operate from Hoboken Terminal back to Willow Avenue and 19th Street. Weekend service will operate on its regular route to/from New York.
Ticketing
All existing valid rail tickets and passes with an origin or destination of New York will be accepted for travel on all park-ride service, and will be cross-honored on NJ TRANSIT buses and light rail lines, private bus carriers, PATH, NY Waterway and Seastreak.
Customers who do not already have a ticket or pass may purchase round-trip tickets to/from New York during morning hours on site from the park-ride locations. Round-trip tickets for regional park-ride service also will be available via MyTix, a mobile ticketing feature on NJ TRANSIT’s mobile app.
Fares from regional park-rides are based on the existing fares from those locations. Adult, senior/disabled, and child fares will be available as follows:
ORIGIN
DESTINATION
ADULT
ROUND TRIP FARE
SENIOR/DISABLED
ROUND TRIP FARE
CHILD
ROUND TRIP FARE
MetLife Stadium
Port Authority
Bus Terminal
$11.00
$4.90
$4.90
Ramsey/
Route 17
Lincoln Harbor
Ferry Terminal
$24.50
$11.40
$11.40
Metropark
Harrison
PATH Station
$21.50
$9.80
$9.80
Hamilton
Newark Penn Station
for PATH connection
$32.50
$14.70
$14.70
PNC Bank Arts Center
New York
$36.00
$18.00
$18.00
Cross-Honoring
NJ TRANSIT rail tickets and passes will be cross-honored on all NJ TRANSIT bus and light rail lines as well as on private bus carriers and PATH trains. Passes also will be cross-honored on all NY Waterway service, including Weehawken, Hoboken and North Hoboken, as well as on Seastreak service into Manhattan and PATCO service at Lindenwold Station to/from Philadelphia (8th & Market St. Station).
RAMSEY, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) — NJ TRANSIT commuters are preparing for the worst if a strike happens next month.
Commuters tell 1010 WINS’ Glenn Schuck that nerves about a possible walkout are starting to set in.
“Just like anything else, you just have to get to the table and hash it out, working around the clock and avoid those last-minute negotiations that keep everybody biting their fingernails to the morning of,” one person told 1010 WINS.
Another commuter was concerned about the bus capacity.
“The bus doesn’t run as efficiently,” he said. “It could get crowded and it definitely could affect people.”
At NJ TRANSIT’s board meeting earlier this month, the head of the union that represents conductors said more than a dozen unions affected by the contract negotiations have authorized a strike if necessary.
The Associated Press
Posted: Feb. 20, 2016 8:00 am Updated: Feb. 20, 2016 12:01 pm
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Transportation officials say ride-sharing firms won’t be blocked from operating at Newark Liberty International Airport.
The move comes just days before a ban announced by Newark authorities was due to take effect.
City officials and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey both announced late Friday that they would not bar Uber and similar services from operating at the airport.
New Jersey Transit also won’t ticket ride-share drivers at Newark Penn Station and other hubs it oversees.
The ban was due to take effect Monday. Uber had said it would compensate drivers who were fined or towed.
By Larry Higgs | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on February 20, 2016 at 8:40 AM, updated February 20, 2016 at 11:17 AM
NJ Transit’s interim boss sharply criticized a federal labor panels recommendations to settle a contract with union rail workers, calling the proposal for “platinum level” health benefits “unreasonable and excessive.”
In a reply to nine members of Congress, who wrote him on Feb. 17, urging a settlement to avoid a possible strike, Dennis Martin, interim executive director reiterated that the agency and riders can’t afford the cost of a settlement endorsed by a second Presidential Emergency Board.
A federal cooling off period ends on March 13 and union rail workers can strike or management can lock them out. The unions have been working without a new contract since 2011. Talks were held as recently as Wednesday and a tentative negotiation session is scheduled for next week.
In it’s letter, members of the delegation said “NJ Transit should seriously consider the Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) 249 proposal, authored by a neutral panel of independent arbitrators, as a path forward.” They also suggested the agency could use federal funds to pay for a settlement.
Martin, in his reply letter, dated Friday, told the lawmakers NJ Transit can’t tap into money from the recently authorized federal transportation funding legislation to pay for a settlement, as the lawmakers suggested.
That money is available for capital construction projects, not for regular operating expenses “such as the exorbitant wages and benefits recommended by the PEB,” Martin wrote. “Addressing the underlying unreasonableness of the excessive level and cost of the platinum level health benefits recommended by the PEB is what is required.”
Port Authority to launch design contest to replace bus terminal; we have some ideas of our own, so please submit your design to the Ridgewood blog onlyonesmallvoice@gmail.com
The Port Authority Bus Terminal in midtown Manhattan.
BY PAUL BERGER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
The Port Authority will push ahead with a design competition for a new Midtown Manhattan bus terminal even as agency commissioners remain divided about where and how big it should be — and whether they should build a second terminal in New Jersey that would transfer bus commuters to trains for the trip to New York City.
Pat Foye, the Port Authority’s executive director, announced the launch of the competition at an agency board meeting on Thursday, saying that designers will be expected to submit concepts that are “scalable and modular and made to fit whatever location and size the agency decides.”
a disco themed port authority ,with disco balls and blinking floors
The agency is being deliberately vague because of a split among board members about how best to replace the 66-year-old terminal at 42nd Street. That station, which serves about 30,000 Bergen County commuters every weekday, is operating over capacity and is in dire need of repair. Engineers say it will need to be knocked down in about 20 years because of structural problems.
New Jersey Transit and 11 rail unions head back to the bargaining table this week, trying to avert a strike that could start the second weekend in March.
A NJ Transit conductor waits for passengers to board the NJ Transit train from New York Penn Station to Trenton, NJ on May 13, 2015 in New York City.
If rail workers do walk out, New Jersey commuters could face a nightmare scenario, according to Tracy Noble, the manager of public and government affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic.
“If you think your commute right now is bad, once those people that typically take transit are additional drivers on our roadways, the commute time is going to have catastrophic results. You could be looking at a commute that takes upwards of two to three hours when it only typically took you a 45 minute short train ride, bus ride,” she said. “The impact of people not being able to use transit to get to their place of business is going to be detrimental to our infrastructure.”
NJ State Senate President Steve Sweeney admits he’s extremely concerned about the situation.
“We want more people to take mass transportation, not less,” he said. “We’re very concerned about that and I know there’s been 2 federal panels commissioned at this point, but no solution yet.”
He also said out a transit strike will only sour even more Jersey commuters on NJ Transit, and many are unhappy with the agency already.
“The 9 percent rate hike didn’t help, the 9 percent rate hike actually hurt, and the more expensive you make mass transportation the less attractive it is for people to take it,” he said.
Noble said this is a serious situation and commuters should begin preparing for service disruptions in case a strike occurs
Ridgewood NJ, The town still has not cleared the parking lot at the Ridgewood Park & Ride on Route 17.
Walking from the parking spaces is now to the point of being brutal.The area froze last night and someone is going to get hurt.
Village residents get fined 24 hours after snow ends if not removed from the property.Commuters are now fining the town $200.00 a day for failure to clean the snow within 24 hours and compensation for dry cleaning.
Ridgewood NJ, Yes, town workers did a pretty decent job in town.As usual, the business district always gets taken care of.
What about the park and ride on route 17?? again this year, the Ridgewood Park And Ride was mostly neglected. The main section was o.k. for those using the meters. The section for the yearly commuters is a disaster. Only 20% done. Maybe the town prefers clearing the meter area only.
The section for the commuters with a yearly pass, was horrible this morning at 7:30 AM, maybe 20% done.
Worse yet Shortline resumed bus service first thing Sunday morning .
So, town is certainly making sure we can put money in the meters.Last year, same situation but much worse.
Our town manager made a comment last year after I complained, she would get in plowed by the following day and actually was.
So why wasn’t the whole lot plowed??
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