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| NJ Transit plans to give up to $2.5 million to NY Waterway ... 10 new buses (301161) | |||
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NJ Transit plans to give up to $2.5 million to NY Waterway ... 10 new buses |
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Posted by Gold_12th on Fri Dec 19 13:33:43 2014 NJ Transit is boosting its working partnership with a ferry company, sharing millions of dollars in federal funding that will go toward bus service across the Hudson River.NJ Transit partners with NY Waterway, a privately owned company, to offer ferry service across the Hudson between New Jersey and New York City. Every year, those ferry trips generate about $2.5 million in mass transit reimbursements from the federal government to NJ Transit, said Ronnie Hakim, the agency’s director. NJ Transit will share the latest allocation. It plans to give up to $2.5 million to NY Waterway, which will use it to buy 10 new buses and improve its terminal in Weehawken. “New Jersey customers who take the bus into the city can take the ferry out in the afternoon, so those buses will be used specifically for this program,” said Bill Easton, a spokesman for NY Waterway. “This a way to reimburse and support NY Waterway for that.” NJ Transit and NY Waterway work together to provide terminals and bus access to ferry riders. Since 2007, that arrangement has helped NJ Transit win the annual subsidies from the Federal Transit Administration. A plan to share some of that revenue has been in the works for years. Members of NJ Transit’s board voted to approve the plan Wednesday. “This has been discussed since before I got here,” Hakim said. The decision drew mostly negative reactions from transit advocates. David Peter Alan, chairman of the Lackawanna Coalition, said the money given to NY Waterway would be better spent on improving the Raritan Valley and North Jersey Coast lines to provide more one-seat rides directly into New York City. In its agenda for Wednesday’s board meeting, NJ Transit described the $2.5 million as helping NY Waterway increase service and reliability for ferry riders. But there’s no contract or agreement from NY Waterway promising to use the new buses to expand service, Hakim said. “What’s to keep them from selling their 10 worst buses? They haven’t demonstrated that NY Waterway will be expanding service,” said Joe Clift, a member of the Lackawanna Coalition, which advocates for transit riders, and a former planner for the Long Island Railroad. Asked whether the new buses will be used to replace old ones or to provide new service, Hakim said, “I hope both.” In addition to new buses, the money from NJ Transit will address the ferry maintenance dock in Weehawken, which has operated for years using diesel generators. NY Waterway will receive up to about $240,000 to connect the dock to the public electrical grid. http://www.northjersey.com/news/nj-transit-plans-to-give-up-to-2-5-million-to-ny-waterway-1.1149982 |
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