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The honor system has been so incredibly abused. How in the world does the light rail stay in service with so many nonpaying riders? I almost never see fare checkers and when I do, dozens of people dart off the train. I am so sick of all the leeches in Hudson county and the resentment that law abiding, tax paying citizens have to take from lazy unions, slimy politicians and people that do not want to work.
It stays running because it is a subsidized service. Almost all public transit systems are.
If you care enough about it, do something about it.
Worth pointing out that its subsidized far less than the roads are, which are essentially 100% subsidized. Light Rail riders reduce congestion on the roads and reduce pollution. The Light Rail itself attracts residents and businesses.
Worth pointing out that its subsidized far less than the roads are, which are essentially 100% subsidized. Light Rail riders reduce congestion on the roads and reduce pollution. The Light Rail itself attracts residents and businesses.
While I agree that HBLR should be subsidized to a greater extent than roads, your opinions on the current level of subsidies are off. The farebox recovery rate for HBLR is about 33%. Also , while it's more difficult to find stats on road funding, there's no way it's "essentially 100% subsidized." It looks like tolls, gas tax and other user taxes and fees cover more like 50% of the cost of roads in NJ.
While I agree that HBLR should be subsidized to a greater extent than roads, your opinions on the current level of subsidies are off. The farebox recovery rate for HBLR is about 33%. Also , while it's more difficult to find stats on road funding, there's no way it's "essentially 100% subsidized." It looks like tolls, gas tax and other user taxes and fees cover more like 50% of the cost of roads in NJ.
I believe the GSP and NJTP are the only tolled roads in NJ, and they only pay for themselves. The federal gas tax is a joke at 18.4 cents a gallon. NJ State gas tax is even less at 14.5 cents.
Farebox recovery of HBLR is not really a good metric since NJTransit allows monthly regional ticket holders to ride without additional charge.
If you feel strongly about this, why don't you write NJT to increase the frequency of fair checking. You can send them a message right of the web site and they usually respond.
HLBR could've been really great system had it been grade separated and did not have to be stuck in traffic with the rest of he cars. I guess also NJT is afraid to run it at a reasonable speed. Similar systems I've ridden in Europe, in Amsterdam and perhaps Munich run almost twice as fast as HLBR.
I believe the GSP and NJTP are the only tolled roads in NJ, and they only pay for themselves. The federal gas tax is a joke at 18.4 cents a gallon. NJ State gas tax is even less at 14.5 cents.
Farebox recovery of HBLR is not really a good metric since NJTransit allows monthly regional ticket holders to ride without additional charge.
AC Expressway is also tolled, but it's not maintained by the NJ Turnpike Authority as the Parkway and Turnpike are.
If you feel strongly about this, why don't you write NJT to increase the frequency of fair checking. You can send them a message right of the web site and they usually respond.
HLBR could've been really great system had it been grade separated and did not have to be stuck in traffic with the rest of he cars. I guess also NJT is afraid to run it at a reasonable speed. Similar systems I've ridden in Europe, in Amsterdam and perhaps Munich run almost twice as fast as HLBR.
To completely grade-separate HBLR, the capital cost would have been four times the actual capital cost for the existing system. It just was not feasible, especially in the 1990s, when Jersey City and Hudson County as a whole was still quite a "gamble" already.
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