The simple fact is that Jersey has chronically underinvested in its public transportation infrastructure

Quote:

A good old race to the bottom. I say bring back the trolleys in the PATH tunnels - let's make the system vintage.

Quote:

Both systems seem to be in a race to the bottom. Prolonged cutbacks in service, no vision for improving and increasing ridership to help decrease auto traffic. Sandy has exposed both PATH and NJT as agencies whose leadership is not really committed to their jobs.

I gave up on the light rail on weekends soon after this cut in service happened (thanks Christie!) but since Sandy took out Hoboken I am going through Newport a lot more and I've found the platform has almost always been completely packed. I haven't seen any disorderly passengers. but it seems crazy that they don't increase service with such demand. It was good to hear they are adding service while they take the uptown PATH completely offline for two weekends, but it should be permanent. How much more can it cost to at least run the two car trains when there is overcrowding?

Wait until the gub'ment controls your health care! Oh boy!

It sounds light the Light Rail is striving to achieve the same standard of weekend service that we get on the PATH trains.

Saw the same thing... got on in Hoboken, train was crowded and there was chaos as people getting off squeezed by people getting on; there was no train on the northside... oh by the way, there were at least 4 transit cops/ticket checkers loitering in the Hoboken Station... they can conserve thier energy now too, staying at one station... just leaning over railings talking for the 12 minutes I waited.

As of last weekend, the light rail no longer runs directly from Tonnele Ave. to Hoboken---riders now have to transfer at Newport for a Hoboken-bound train. Taking the train to Hoboken today was annoyingly crowded, but the transfer train was waiting on the platform when my train arrived and it was inconvenient but okay. Coming back was another story: I took the 22nd Street-bound train to Newport and was uneasy to see a sea of people waiting for the Tonnelle Avenue train. I counted 120 people, and, in the 17 minutes that we waited, another 40 joined the throng. Then a very loud and restless group of about 30 teenagers was escorted out of the mall by security guards (there were three cop cars there with their lights flashing), and most of them made their way on to the already packed platform, some riding on each other's shoulders, lots of yelling and pushing. When the train finally arrived in the station, it was really scary..people were pushing to get on and pushing to get off, and there was yelling and a feeling of menace in the air, the way the atmosphere on the subway felt back in the early 80's . Of course, there are no security guards ever to be found anywhere near that station. The train that this huge gang of people were pushing to get on was made up of only two cars , which would barely be able to accomodate a Saturday mall crowd with the old schedule, but now with the new schedule is a safety hazard. I was so happy to finally get off at my stop in one piece. can't imagine what idiots thought this up...I can imagine that they need to save money, but really? On the most heavily traveled of the lines, and during the weekend when everyone and his brother is going to the mall???