In The News

NJ Transit study targets $600M in budget cuts, expansion and reform NJ.com, 4/19/2024 (PAYWALL) 

N.J. bridges were checked after the 4.8 magnitude earthquake. Here’s what inspectors found. NJ.com, 4/19/2024 (PAYWALL)

Jersey City to revitalize area around Coles Street underpass, adding skate park, bike lanes The Jersey Journal, 4/19/2024 (PAYWALL)

Lots of queries from legislators about NJ Transit fare hikes, NJ Turnpike toll hikes NorthJersey.com, 4/18/2024

Belleville 1 of 5 towns awarded funds to make township streets safer near BHS The Observer, 4/17/2014 — NJTPA MENTION

Will North Jersey get money to tackle air pollution through NYC congestion pricing plan? NorthJersey.com, 4/17/2024

NJ bill would allow Uber, Lyft to offer alternative to Access Link paratransit service NorthJersey.com, 4/17/2024

Carteret ferry service to Manhattan could begin next spring MyCentralJersey.com, 4/17/2024

Route 206 roadwork has sat unfinished for a year. When the dirt lanes might be fixed. NJ.com, 4/17/2024 (PAYWALL)

Middletown Reducing Costs To Park At Commuter Lots 15 Percent Patch.com, 4/16/2024

From transit deserts to 2 million rides: Four years of microtransit in Jersey City Mass Transit Magazine, 4/16/2024

New Jersey Turnpike retaining wall collapses; causing overnight shutdown PIX11, 4/16/2024

Free transit? No tax collection? We got NJ contract to host World Cup. Here's what it says NorthJersey.com, 4/16/2024

Gateway Tunnel project is one step closer to getting massive federal grant NJ.com, 4/16/2024 (PAYWALL)

Where are electric vehicles more popular in N.J.? A county-by-county breakdown. NJ.com, 4/15/2024

Statue of labor pioneer A. Philip Randolph unveiled at Newark Penn Station NJ.com, 4/15/2024 (PAYWALL)

New Pedstrian Bridge Set for Installation TAPinto Bayonne, 4/13/2024 — After years of waiting, residents should soon be able to cross over the rail tracks at East 25th Street. On Saturday, crews were on site installing the new pedestrian span.

15% NJ Transit fare hike doesn’t actually fix the agency’s money problems NJ.com, 4/12/2024 (PAYWALL) — While NJ Transit's vote to increase fares by 15% puts an immediate budget question to bed, it is far from the end of debate about the bigger picture of solving the financial woes of the nation’s third largest transit agency.

NJ state senators question transportation officials on FIFA, bridge safety, infrastructure NorthJersey.com, 4/12/2024 — Discussions at a state Senate budget committee hearing on proposed transportation spending on Thursday morning ranged from bridge safety and ongoing projects to staffing and remote work.

Cash-strapped NJ Transit once again is in budget spotlight NJ Spotlight News, 4/12/2024 — A day after New Jersey Transit’s board authorized fare hikes for the first time in nearly a decade, the cash-strapped bus and rail agency’s financial woes were a key topic for lawmakers leading an ongoing review of Gov. Phil Murphy’s latest state spending plan.   

Raritan Township to Seek Grants for Traffic Safety Action Plan TAPinto Flemington/Raritan, 4/12/2024, NJTPA MENTION — The Raritan Township Committee discussed a safety action plan in regard to fatal car crashes at its April 2 committee meeting. The North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) implemented safety action plans beginning in fall 2023. The initiative seeks to improve safety for all road users, in keeping with the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) National Road Safety Strategy and Safe System Approach.

New Jersey’s MVC has a $50M budget hole. How will it impact drivers? NJ.com, 4/12/2024 (PAYWALL) — Gov. Phil Murphy’s proposed fiscal year 2025 state budget includes $50 million more for the Motor Vehicle Commission to handle a deficit it says it can’t fill on its own. That boost in state aid, MVC officials said, will allow the agency to refrain from plugging the hole with money from drivers across the state.

Get a text saying you owe unpaid tolls? It’s fake. NJ.com, 4/12/2024 (PAYWALL) — Jersey drivers are being targeted by a text messaging scam from “NJ Turnpike toll services” that’s designed to trick them into entering their bank or credit card information into a bogus website, officials warned.

NJ TRANSIT contract to cut $300M in costs hidden from public before 15% fare hike vote NorthJersey.com, 4/11/2024 — The central goal of a consultant hired to do a restructuring analysis of NJ TRANSIT was to identify about $300 million in cuts for the coming fiscal year and another $300 million the year after that, according to a document obtained Wednesday by NorthJersey.com.

NJ TRANSIT CEO says fare hikes will keep agency from ‘death spiral’ New Jersey Monitor, 4/11/2024 — NJ TRANSIT CEO Kevin Corbett told the Senate Budget Committee Thursday that the fare increases, which were broadly opposed by activists who fear its impact on low-income commuters, are necessary to avoid service cuts that officials worried could depress fare revenue and send the agency into a “death spiral.”

NJ TRANSIT OKs 15 percent fare hike starting this summer Gothamist, 4/11/2024 — NJ TRANSIT’s board of directors voted unanimously on Wednesday to raise fares for riders by 15 percent starting this summer. The fare increase is still subject to approval by the state Legislature when it finalizes its budget this June for the next fiscal year. The fare hike would go into effect on July 1 and would be NJ Transit’s first in nine years.

Here’s why you should fill your car’s gas tank now in N.J. as prices climb NJ.com, 4/9/2024 — Gas prices in New Jersey are surging higher and more price hikes are expected, experts say. This is the last week before New Jersey makes the switch to summer reformulated gas that traditionally comes with a higher price. But there are other reasons driving the steady price increases over the past month, said Patrick DeHaan GasBuddy.com petroleum analyst.

Spirit Airlines closing N.J. crew hub at Atlantic City airport NJ.com, 4/9/2024 — Spirit Airlines, one of the nation’s largest air carriers, will close one of its New Jersey crew hubs later this year as part of a larger restructuring plan announced Monday.

NJ TRANSIT receives $1.6M for AI-powered safety systems NJBiz.com, 4/8/2024 — The United States Department of Transportation last week awarded NJ TRANSIT a $1.6 million grant for the implementation of artificial intelligence-based safety systems on light rail vehicles and at grade crossings.

Opinion: If we fail to fund NJ TRANSIT, here’s the doomsday scenario NJ.com, 4/7/2024  — NJ TRANSIT is in trouble. We’ve all seen the headlines: a billion-dollar fiscal cliff, a spate of private bus carriers ending service, double-digit fare hikes, and frustrated riders.

Port Authority plans $430M rehabilitation for PATH train system amNY, 4/7/2024 — Under its PATH Forward program, the bi-state agency says it will invest $430 million in rebuilding and rehabilitating its bridges, tracks, switches, and stations over the next two years. At 116 years of age, the PATH — which runs under the Hudson River between Manhattan and New Jersey’s Hudson and Essex counties — is nearly as old as New York’s subway, and alone is the fifth busiest rapid transit system in the country.

New Jersey’s Best Biking Trails: A Passionate Cyclist Shares His Secrets NJ Monthly, 3/19/2024 — Whether you’re imagining you’re in the Tour de France as you climb to High Point, the state’s most elevated peak, or taking a sunset ride on a beach cruiser at the Jersey Shore, two wheels can take you to places you’ve never been in the Garden State.

The Unlikely New Bike Lanes Gracing the Scottish Capital CityLab Perspective, April 19, 2024 - Edinburgh’s longest cycle lane, opened recently, was a decade in the making. And if it can happen in this hilly, windswept northern city, well, it can happen pretty much anywhere.

Lawmakers to allow NYC to lower speed limit to 20 mph Gothamist, April 18, 2024 - The deal will not allow the city to lower the speed limits on roads with three or more lanes of traffic heading in one direction, a caveat that was designed to get city-based members of the Legislature on board with the deal. The City Council as well as Mayor Eric Adams would still need to sign off on the change.

Insurance Market Instability Threatens the Present and Future of Commuter Rail Service Railway Age, April 17, 2024 - In 2021, Congress passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal and made the largest Federal investment in public transit in the nation’s history. Between new investments and reauthorizations, the legislation committed $89.9 billion in public funding over a five-year period.

8 years into America’s e-scooter experiment, what have we learned? Grist.com, April 15, 2024 - The climate benefits of shared e-scooters depend upon how companies deploy and manage them, and what steps are taken to keep riders safe.

An Ode to the Northeast Corridor, the Rail Line That Keeps Amtrak Alive CityLab Transportation, April 12, 2024 - In his new book, David Alff employs a historical perspective to explain how trains became essential, if frustrating, fixtures of the bustling metropolises from the Mid-Atlantic to New England. He delves into the political decision-making and compromises that made the corridor what it now is and considers how transformative planned upgrades could be.