Count me in - if they opened the tunnel to bikes I would ride to work every day.

I guess I should get ready to share the road with the other bicycle riders out there. Who need help dusting off their bikes ? Now go out and get a folding bike, I'll lead the way.

I am hoping to see some significant improvement in mass transit across the US - it is about time.

I think this is great - should make for nice equity in my home over the next few years - wohoo - bring on $5 a gallon!

Sure is good that regional mass transit is getting a bundle of cash to pay for system wide improvements from all that money collected through congestion pricing. Oh, that's right, thanks Sheldon Silver for completing screwing us.

Thanks OPEC. Finally, people are beginning to take mass transit seriously

Traffic declines at Hudson River crossings
With rising gas prices and tolls, more commuters take mass transit

Friday, June 27, 2008
BY RON MARSICO
Star-Ledger Staff

Use of the Hudson River and Staten Island crossings dropped by more than 400,000 drivers in May, most likely because of soaring gasoline prices and rising tolls, Port Authority figures show.

The declines -- which have grown in recent months -- have been met with sizable increases in ridership on the PATH rail system and NJ Transit trains and buses, according to regional mass transit data.

On a typical day in May, use of the Lincoln and Holland tunnels and the George Washington, Goethals, Outerbridge and Bayonne bridges totaled about 348,000 vehicles, a 3.8 percent drop from an average day in May 2007, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates those crossings. Over the course of the entire month, that means more than 425,000 fewer drivers used those crossings.

At the same time, PATH ridership jumped 6.5 percent during the first three months of this year, to 17.9 million riders, up from 16.8 million riders during the same period a year ago, according to the agency.

More recent numbers from NJ Transit show systemwide train, bus and light rail ridership grew by 4.6 percent in April and May -- up from an already healthy 3.8 percent jump during the year's first quarter.

"The trend is accelerating," said Dan Stessel, a spokesman for NJ Transit. "Clearly, what's leading to this level of growth is the high price of gasoline."

Higher tolls also have played a role, said Stephen Carrellas, New Jersey's chapter coordinator for the National Motorists Association -- an assessment acknowledged by the Port Authority.

The agency socked E-ZPass users with a 60 percent increase in early March, raising peak hour tolls at its bridges and tunnels from $5 to $8. At the same time, gas prices have spiked considerably since April -- jumping to roughly $4 a gallon and more across the state.

Across the Hudson River, officials from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates the Triborough Bridge and Queens-Midtown Tunnel, have seen similar trends.

Spokesman Jeremy Soffin said bridge and tunnel traffic was down 4.7 percent in May and 1.5 percent for the year.

"We're definitely seeing a hit due to the gas prices...," but "we're seeing an uptick in transit ridership," Soffin said.

The increases in ridership, he said, are about 5 percent this year on the Long Island Rail Road and Metro North, which serves riders to and from Westchester County, other parts of upstate New York and Connecticut.

Marc La Vorgna, a Port Authority spokesman, said there has been a benefit on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River: less congestion at the crossings and more people on mass transit -- one of the agency's overarching goals.

"This is why we dedicated more than $8 billion in our 10-year plan to mass transit expansion to provide the opportunity for more people to get out of their cars," La Vorgna said.

In addition to modernizing the PATH system with new signals and trains, the Port Authority is spearheading an effort to build a second rail tunnel from New Jersey to Midtown Manhattan, a project slated to cost more than $7 billion.

Ron Marsico can be reached at rmarsico@starledger.com or (973) 392-7860.