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RIDGEWOOD BLOG POLL: HOW DO YOU GET TO WORK EVERYDAY ?
NJ Transit ridership rises, thanks to young commuters and high gas prices
By Paul Nussbaum
Inquirer Staff Writer
High gas prices and the changing habits of young people are driving a shift toward mass transit that could influence budget battles in Washington and state capitals.
Nationwide last year, buses, subways, and trains had their second-highest ridership since 1957 – behind only 2008, when the price of gas topped $4 a gallon. Locally, SEPTA, NJ Transit, and PATCO all report increased ridership.
Amtrak, which last week said it carried 3.7 percent more passengers in the six months that ended in March than in the same period a year earlier, appears headed for its ninth national ridership record in 10 years.
U.S. highway use was down slightly in 2011, with 1.2 percent fewer vehicle miles traveled than in 2010, and 1.3 percent fewer than in 2007.
“Gas prices are driving this,” SEPTA spokesman Richard Maloney theorized. The agency’s ridership increased 2.9 percent through the seven months that ended in February, and its budget for the next year anticipates an additional 2.5 percent annual increase in passengers.
“Rising employment levels and a stronger economic climate” are the primary factors, NJ Transit spokesman John Durso Jr. said, citing his agency’s 5.7 percent ridership gain for the six months that ended in February.
https://www.philly.com/philly/news/nation_world/147686725.html