NEWSLETTER REPORT February 22, 2014 Published Bi-Monthly PO Box 271, Raritan, N.J

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1 New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers NEWSLETTER REPORT February 22, 2014 Published Bi-Monthly PO Box 271, Raritan, N.J NJ-ARP to issue periodic Position Papers to press and public In an effort to attract new members as well as some attention from both the media and the agencies responsible for providing transit for citizens of New Jersey and metro New York and Philadelphia, NJ-ARP s Board has decided to issue periodic position papers/press releases on issues we think need to be addressed. We are also slightly shifting our focus a bit more towards service-related issues which is what the public is demanding. While it would be wonderful if we could hold a proverbial gun to our state legislators, governor, and federal representatives to finally get some action (and traction) on long-delayed projects, the reality seems to be that there are very little funds being appropriated for transit. Just one example that comes to mind is the Gloucester Rail project. This has been in some form of proposal, studies, etc. since the early 1990s and languishes while the Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA) and New Jersey Transit (NJT) play hot potato trying to find a state agency and/or operator that will actually put down some tracks and equipment on those tracks. Meanwhile, NJDOT will start working soon on the reconstruction of the I-295/I-676/I-76/Route 42 junction at a cost of just under one Billion dollars. NJ-ARP is not saying that this is an undeserving project, but the reality is that public transportation always runs a very distant second to highways. We haven t heard anyone calling this project a Billion Dollar Boondoggle which was the appellation used for years on the 34-mile SNJLRT line (that was renamed the River LINE. [By the way: About $400 million of that billion went to pay off interest on borrowed money since our Transportation Trust Fund supposedly funded by our anemic gas tax didn t have the cash for that project and, ten years later is still on the verge of bankruptcy.] Add to Gloucester Rail, Monmouth-Ocean-Middlesex (MOM), Lackawanna Cut-Off, West Trenton, Bergen-Passaic Cross-County, Susquehanna, and of course, the 14 year and counting wait for Hudson-Bergen Light Rail to actually serve any Bergen County destination. Rather than banging our heads against the brick wall of appropriations, we will be spending more effort on issues that don t cost billions to address s toilet issue at NY-Penn was a good example. Some photos of the deplorable conditions, then a few choice words at an NJT Board meeting (with the press in attendance) did the trick. We will not abandon our efforts for new lines, but we will change our efforts towards a more incremental approach. One such project is Amtrak s dogged refusal to stop any trains at Secaucus Junction. That ignores a market of 1.4 million people. That logjam may have been breached on Feb. 2nd s Super Bowl where Amtrak finally discovered Secaucus. On Feb. 18, NJ-ARP issued a Position Paper that we hope will get the attention of the media to end Amtrak s stonewalling. This can be fixed for chump change by some minor tweaking of the schedule and the cost of a couple of ticket vending machines at Secaucus. A different project, one that will cost both New Jersey and New York money, is extending the No. 7 subway line from its soon to be 34th St.-Hudson Yard terminus, under the Hudson River to Secaucus Junction, hopefully with a connecting station in Hoboken to Hudson-Bergen Light Rail. NJ-ARP endorsed the overall concept several years ago when New York politicians seemed to have some real interest in it. This month s Super Bowl and the problems it encountered could have really shown how a rapid transit line may have been much better at dispersing large crowds. That s why we are timing the release of this Position Paper for this month. Strike while the iron is hot! The Paper lists multitude of ways that the 7 to Secaucus would be beneficial towards both New Jersey and New York. Our members will receive these Papers, and we re happy to note that those members receiving their publications by U.S.P.S. mail will find both of these Position Papers enclosed with this issue. There will be more of these Papers on the way and we wish to thank our dedicated members for their continued support, without which our outreach efforts would not be possible. NJ-ARP DIRECTORS and OFFICERS, 2014 Leonard Resto, Pres. & Treasurer Paul Mulligan, Cape May Rep (eves only) Philip G. Craig, Vice President William Armstrong, Monmouth Rep (eves only) Lester W. Wolff, Secretary (days only) George Musser, Jr. Montclair/Boonton Rep and NJ-ARP Web Master (eves only) Jim Ciacciarelli, Director Jishnu Mukerji, Morris & NEC Rep (eves only) Jishnu Mukerji, Director (eves only) Joe Versaggi, Raritan Valley Rep (eves only) and Membership Director Albert L. Papp, Jr., Director Orrin Getz, Rockland Rep (eves only) Carol Ann Thomas, Director (days) Tim Apgar, Sussex Rep Joe Versaggi, Director (eves only) Rose M. Heck, Government Affairs NJ-ARP CONTACT njarp@nj-arp.org NJ-ARP LIVE: NJ_ARP NJ-ARP WEB SITE Facebook:

2 President s Perspective: A snow schedule by any other name To its credit, NJ Transit ran a regular weekday schedule during the latest Storm of the Decade on Thursday, February 13, 2014 which stretched into Valentine s Day, February 14. In the meantime, both Metro-North and the LIRR tried to guess their patrons intentions and were roundly panned for their lack of service. However, on Wednesday, February 5, 2014, our region was hit with its umpteenth winter storm. This one was especially miserable in that it blended every type of wintry weather in the space of 12 hours. In Morris County, an initial 5 inches of snow was compacted by a prolonged period of sleet and then frozen in place by a prolonged period of freezing rain. The end result was a widow maker snow shoveling chore which felt like removing several inches of Slurpee from your walkway and driveway. Despite the storm, I awoke that morning and listened to WCBS-News Radio 88. In their 6:38 A.M. Traffic and Weather Together segment, the studio went live to Traffic Reporter Tom Kaminski. Due to the elements, his helicopter was grounded; but, here was his report: Subways are up and running on time, with some en route weather related delays on lines which run outdoors or on elevated tracks. Staten Island Rapid Transit is reporting 15 minute weather related delays. PATH is running on or close to schedule. Metro-North is running on a regular weekday schedule with up to 30 minute weather related delays. The LIRR is running on a regular weekday schedule subject to up to 20 minute weather related delays. New Jersey Transit is running on a Storm Schedule with up to 30 minute delays systemwide, cross-honoring tickets is in effect all day. NJ Transit buses are running with up to 90 minute delays due to road conditions; but, they are running. Back to you in the studio. To his credit, the morning anchor, Harley Cairns asked what a Storm Schedule was. Tom Kaminski responded an enhanced weekend schedule. Mr. Cairns persisted What does that mean? Tom responded essentially the President s Day schedule. Having heard Enhanced Weekend Schedule for previous snowstorms this winter; once I heard the term Storm Schedule for the fi rst time that day, it suggested to me that NJ Transit had snuck in a Storm Schedule as a matter of policy for this and any future snow/ice event. Unfortunately, employers and employees do not have the luxury of an enhanced weekend schedule workday. The railroad is a vital public service as are the Public Works Department (DPW) in my town. All of the DPW workers in my town live out of town and all would have a diffi cult time getting to work given the road conditions It is why my town goes into 2 twelve hour shifts and pays DPW workers to sleep in town so they are available to clear and salt roads. Most of the DPW employees will actually go home and they make it in for their next shift. That is the dedication they have to this town. They have a culture that what they do is critical to the functioning of the town. Could you imagine telling residents we couldn t plow or salt your streets because we re on a storm schedule as our DPW workers couldn t make it in? The Mayor and Council would be voted out of offi ce, as they should be. Granted, the February 5 storm was bad, without question. We also know that freezing rain is the mortal enemy of any railroad with overhead catenary. However, my office was open. I spent 2 hours digging myself out and got to the office. In New York City, the vast majority of businesses were open. Upon going to work, I noticed the train station was over 50% full of vehicles at 7:30 A.M. What was missing were the trains. I m old enough to remember the old weary Erie-Lackawanna running a regular service despite frozen overhead catenary. They ran extra slow; but, they ultimately got us to Hoboken and they supplemented service with diesel engines pulling coaches. A Storm Schedule on a vital public service just doesn t cut it for any of the tri-state rail systems. To then call it an enhanced weekend schedule is a misnomer. Let s call it what it really is a Decreased Weekday Schedule or a Degraded Weekday Schedule because that s exactly what it is. When you look up the word Enhance in the dictionary, the defi nition reads: To improve or add to the strength, worth, beauty, or other desirable quality of something. There is nothing enhanced about a schedule that truncates a necessary service on the western end of the Morris & Essex Line, as well as for most of the Montclair-Boonton Line, etc. So, on a day when people would have been either afraid to drive on icy roads or didn t have time to dig out of their parking spaces, they would have turned to their trains. What were missing were the trains. Shameful! Let s hope the latest storm response becomes the norm for New Jersey Transit as well as Metro-North and the LIRR. Here s an idea: If winter weather creates an enhanced weekend schedule why not have management on an enhanced government weekly paycheck? That would be Unemployment Insurance which would, in New Jersey, enhance pay from zero to a maximum of $624 per week. That might just bring back regular weekday service. Just a thought. Len Resto, President Introducing more new features on your Web site starting this month The Transit News page continues to be the most popular feature on the Web site. It s updated almost every day and in January it contained over 170 links. As of this writing, it already has over 60 links for February. This month we are starting a new series of Position Papers (see page 1) that may be found under the Press Releases/Projects tab. These papers, written by NJ-ARP Directors and Offi cers, will be released periodically, and will let our members, the media, and transit agencies know what changes and improvements we seek. We ve also started our long-promised, new feature under the Members Area drop-down menu named Trip Reports. Most of our readers know our former Vice President Jack May is an avid traveler and photographer of rail properties. His work has appeared often in our publications. We re really proud to be able to present it on our Website. His photographs are scenic, colorful, and always beautifully composed. His trip journals are very interesting reading. The fi rst 4 installments are already up (See page 5). More will be posted on a continuous basis, so please keep checking back. NEWSLETTER REPORT February 22, 2014, Page 2

3 NJT continues to top chart with most expensive monthly rail fares NJ-ARP Director Joe Versaggi has updated his chart of monthly rail fares again. Look at the disparity on the intra-suburb 18-mile fares (bottom section) where NJT ($168) is triple the price of ConnDOT-MNRR ($54). COMPARATIVE MONTHLY RAIL FARES Gas Rail Authority City Miles Suburb (fare zone) Monthly State Tax NJT New York 48 Princeton Jct. (19) $414 NJ Metuchen (11) $308 MTA-LIRR New York 49 Smithtown (10) $363 NY Hicksville (7) $276 MTA-MNRR New York 52 Brewster (7) $360 NY Port Chester (14) $237 ConnDOT-MNRR New York 51 Fairfield $358 CT (Note B) 25 n/a n/a MBTA Boston 50 Fitchburg (8) $314 MA Lawrence (6) $275 SEPTA Philadelphia 50 n/a n/a PA Exton (4) $191 NICTD-CSS&SB Chicago 50 Beverly Shores (7) $234 IN East Chicago (4) $155 Caltrain San Francisco 49 San Jose (4) $232 CA Redwood City (2) $126 METRA Chicago 49 Fox Lake (J) $221 IL Wheaton (E) $150 MARC Washington 49 Brunswick (8) $170 MD Dorsey (6) $128 NEWARK / JAMAICA MONTHLY RAIL FARES Rail Authority City (fare zone) Miles Suburb (fare zone) Monthly NJT Newark 39 Princeton Jct. (19) $ Metuchen (11) $193 MTA-LIRR Jamaica (3) 38 Smithtown (10) $ Hicksville (7) $210 NY/NJ/CT INTRA-SUBURB MONTHLY RAIL FARES Rail Authority City (fare zone) Miles Suburb (fare zone) Monthly NJT Summit (9) 37 Hackettstown (19) $ Dover (17) $168 MTA-LIRR Mineola (4) 39 Port Jefferson (10) $ Huntington (9) $149 MTA-MNRR White Plains (6) 38 Patterson (8) $ Katonah (6) $105 ConnDOT-MNRR Stamford 39 New Haven $151 (Note B) 18 Fairfield $54 SOURCES: taxfoundation.org/article/state-gasoline-tax-rates-january mta.info/schedules mta.maryland.gov/marc-fares metrarail.com/metra/en/home/tickets.html Note B: Additional 5% off for web ticket for points within Connecticut. NEWSLETTER REPORT February 22, 2014, Page 3

4 Super Pass Super Bargain for a tour of NJ and surroundings I used the NJT Super Bowl Super Pass for the first time on January 30, On the fi rst day I did a round trip to Philladelphia from Newark Airport via Pennsauken. Why Newark Airport? The Metropark lot was full as were a couple of others of my regular places. So just dropped the car off at the EWR Long Term lot, and took a shuttle bus to Airtrain to get to EWR station. Since I was using the Super Pass, all the extra Airtrain costs etc. did not matter. I also had someone to pick up at EWR later in the day, so that meshed in nicely. The EWR fare gate read the 2D barcode in the Super Pass flawlessly. All gates are now equipped with barcode readers. I suspect that they may eventually even be able to read Amtrak e-tickets, though I suspect they can t do anything with them at present even if they could read them. In order to actually make heads or tails of an Amtrak e-ticket they d have to have access to Amtrak s Arrow system, since all that the e-ticket has in the barcode is the PNR. It does not have any origin - destination information. I don t know what NJT barcodes have encoded in them, though it appears to be quite information rich from the number of elements apparent in the barcode. This is worth keeping in mind when we discuss cross-agency through ticketing etc. The train to Trenton was an MLV milk run stopping at such places as North Elizabeth and Jersey Avenue on its way. It managed to get to Hamilton about 7 minutes ahead of schedule and crawled along as an Amtrak Keystone rattled by us to platform at Trenton, while we crawled along behind it. We entered Trenton right on its tail as it left Trenton, and still we were a minute or two ahead of schedule. The padding in the schedule is almost obscene. Walked over to the River LINE (that is how it appears on all signage on that line) and managed to get a front facing window seat even though the single unit train was SRO. The journey to Pennsauken was uneventful, and the Super Pass was checked and accepted by the River LINE ticket examiner. The Delaware River was incredibly full of ice. I suspect the cross river ferries may have be having a hard time. At Pennsauken I was the only person getting off the train and a couple of people got on. The parking lot though, was fairly full. I noticed that NJT fi nally fi nished laying the northbound track, but it is currently still not in service and there were about fi ve people tinkering around on it at the Atlantic City (south) end of the block near the home signal at the interlocking where the connection to Fish House takes off. There is a very nice motion detector actuated radiant heater right above the bench which kept me warm while I waited for the train. The train from Atlantic City arrived on time crossing over to the southbound to make the southbound platform, and crossing over back to the northbound, which is the only track that is normally used by NJT across the Delair Bridge. I was the only one that got on, while about a dozen people got off. Ride to Philadelphia was uneventful, with an on time arrival. We had to wait just outside of 30th Street for an Amtrak Regional to pass by. It was a 10 car consist. Perhaps it was one of the Virginia trains which are now regularly getting more than 8 cars. At Philly I decided to splurge and spend a little bit of money to take SEPTA back to Trenton. Got on a Trenton Express (a Silverliner IV set) and got back to Trenton in time to do a quick cross platform transfer to an NJT New York Express. Now that was a really pleasant run on that NJT Express. The MLVs actually ride remarkably well and smoothly at 100mph, much better than anything else that NJT has, and pretty much as well as Amfl eets or better. It stopped at Hamilton, Princeton Jct. New Brunswick, and Metropark before getting to Newark Airport. It got fairly full by Metropark. Arrival at EWR was a little ahead of schedule. Many people got off and got on. With passing time, the EWR station is progressively seeing more and more use. Again passing through the fare gate was using the barcode, and that was pretty much the end of my NJT riding for the day. On the second day, January 31, it was an entirely different side of NJT, exploring the Erie side of the Hoboken Division. Since I started late enough, after 3pm on a Friday, I could safely park at Short Hills station at a metered spot without facing the risk of getting ticketed since I do not have a township parking permit, or so I thought. Unfortunately the lot was full, so off I went to Metropark, to find the lot not completely full. This is one reason that I often use Metropark and the NEC instead of using the M&E, since parking in general is much scarcer on weekdays at M&E stations. Took a New York bound NEC MLV consist pulled by an ALP-46 to Secaucus and observed the massive preparations for the Super Bowl in progress. I changed trains there with no problem to a Port Jervis Express. The ticket gates at Secaucus also accept bar codes now. The Port Jervis express with a MNRR Comet V consist pulled by a GP-40, runs nonstop from Secaucus to Suffern, via the Bergen Line in this case. It is a pity that we do not have any expresses on weekends on the Morristown Line. I guess that might happen if ever the extension into Pennsylvania gets built. The train ran pretty much on time and arrived a bit early into Suffern. There was a Hoboken local ready to depart, which I managed to catch with a brief dash across using the underpass at the north end of the platform. The return train was a milk run via the Main Line, a motley collection of various Comets pulled by a PL42AC. The Main Line which used to be in a terrible shape many years back has been almost completely reconstructed and now is probably one of the better state of repair lines on the NJT system. Many stations have high level platforms now and it is all welded rail all the way. Arrived back at Secaucus on time and then it was back to Secaucus Upper to catch the next NEC service that came by. The fi rst one that came by was a NJCL train, which was followed closely by an NEC Express, MLV with ALP46 power. Took that back to Metropark and that was the end of day 2. Day 3, February 1st, was the NJCL day. This being a Saturday, no problem fi nding parking at Short Hills. Took a Midtown Direct, yet another 10 car MLV with ALP46 power all the way into New York Penn Station to catch an NJCL Long Branch/Bay Head train. It was also an MLV consist with ALP46 power. NJCL used to be my old stomping grounds when I lived in Ocean Township and worked at Holmdel and Middletown. I saw the 25kV electrifi cation being erected adjacent to my offi ce in Middletown (what is now the AT&T complex). I haven t been down that way in a while so I took this opportunity of essentially a free ride to as far as I could go without getting stuck for several hours waiting for a train. It turns out that because the Long Branch Bay Head shuttle runs only once every two hours, if you go further than Belmar or Spring Lake you get stuck for almost two (Continued on Page 5) NEWSLETTER REPORT February 22, 2014, Page 4

5 Super Pass Super Bargain (Continued from Page 4) hours before you can get a return train. So naturally I went only up to Belmar. The electric train arrived at Long Branch after some exhilarating 80mph running through Middletown Township, and then crossing the picturesque Navesink River at Red Bank. The station building at Red bank is covered under scaffolding. I assume that it is in the process of being rehabilitated. The change at Long Branch was to a usual 6 car collection of various Comets powered by a GP-40. I love the slow leisurely ride south of Long Branch, though it is not the best of ways to increase ridership. It almost feels like a DMU or DLRT with more frequent service would serve the needs of that route better than the heavy ponderous full-fledged commuter train with very infrequent service. Anyway, arrival at Belmar was 5 minutes late for no particular reason. The wait in Belmar was just 20 minutes or so, which I spent exploring around the station on foot. Belmar has changed a lot since I was there last. The station could do with full length high level platform. The return trip was uneventful, back to Long Branch and then a New York train to Newark, where I changed to Newark Light Rail service to Newark Broad Street Station, to change again to a Midtown Direct headed for Dover to get to Short Hills. The third day, February 2nd, was the big game day! I again parked at Short Hills and took the Midtown Direct to Secaucus to see what the big crowd to the game action looked like. I got there at around 2:25pm and what I observed at the upper level was a fi asco in the making. Trains were coming in and dumping huge crowds on the platforms, which were somewhere between 2/3rds and 3/4ths full, and the lines were moving up the stairs to the Rotunda at a glacial pace. I waited 15 minutes in which the line moved about 15 feet, and then gave up and took the next train to NYP and PATH to Hoboken to catch the 3:21 to Waldwick to check out what was going on downstairs at Secaucus., NJT was also running additional shuttles from New York to Secaucus, some of which appeared on the annunciators as Newark Airport Shuttles. There were apparently a few that even terminated in Secaucus and deadheaded to Hudson yard to turn back. Later I learned that the earlier crowding was partly caused by people starting to arrive in Secaucus way before the stadium opened and the stadium service started operating, causing massive backups. The slow security check did not help matters apparently when things started moving. Apparently just about the time I left SEC they gave up on security checks and opened up the gates and let people just go through to the Meadowlands platform (Tracks G and H). By the time I passed SEC again, this time at the lower level things appeared to be fl owing much more smoothly. Most of Secaucus Lower Level service was running about 10 mins late since they were single tracking through SEC lower. Tracks G and H were being used for boarding Meadowlands trains. Track F was being used to get the empties from Meadowlands through past SEC and then cross over to tracks G or H to get to the boarding platforms. So only track E was being used for both Main and Bergen line service in both directions. Regularly scheduled trains out of Hoboken were being run segregated into two sections. The rear half of the train was for people going to the game and the front half for regular passengers going elsewhere. This worked quite well and allowed regular passengers to travel comfortably without being jostled around by game goers. I took the train through to Ridgewood and on the way saw the festivities starting off at Rutherford, the one that the arrogant Super Bowl organizers would not allow the use of Super Bowl name for. The tracks and bridges on the way were guarded by people in armored personnel carriers, which I thought was kind of interesting. On the way back from Ridgewood I passed through Secaucus on the way to Hoboken at around 5pm, and by then things appeared to have completely eased off. The fi nal time I passed through Secaucus was at around 7:30pm.This time Main/Bergen/Pascack trains were running on time and on their usual tracks. I came in from Hoboken and went upstairs. All the various barriers were being dismantled and there was a virtual cacophony of dozens of K-9s having a little R&R. The volunteers were all heading homewards in ones and twos. I joined them on my way back home by the next Midtown Direct that came by. The fi nal day was the day after (Monday, February 3rd), and I spent the entire time that day riding the entire length of the two LRT systems in north Jersey. That was all the traveling I did on New Jersey Transit using my $50 Super Pass. Jishnu Mukerji, Director Picture worth a thousand words NJ-ARP Members: You re in for a special treat on our Web site under the Members Area Trip Reports. The fi rst 4 installments of Jack May s Eurocruise are uploaded. The photo on the right is one of many accompanied by editorial copy describing Jack s recent journey through Europe on a variety of urban and intercity rail operations. Enjoy! The rear of an outbound LRV passing the Jeronimos Monastery at Belen. Many architects call the church the most exciting building in Lisbon. The style, combining Gothic and Renaissance features with motifs from the sea (remember Vasco da Gama), is called Manueline after former King Manuel. Also note the track returning from the short-turn loop. NEWSLETTER REPORT February 22, 2014, Page 5

6 Editors Choice of Top Transit News Links Each issue, your editors pick what we feel to be the latest and best transit links from our web site s TRANSIT NEWS page that is updated on an almost daily basis and may be found at 01/20/14 Frustrated software developer creates app for SEPTA to recommend schedule changes. Recommend-Schedule-Changes html 01/23/14 Designing a less confusing parking sign. 01/26/14 New York Day. (Striking time lapse photography) (4+ minute VIDEO) com&utm_campaign=buffer 01/27/14 Tango LRVs for St. Gallen, Switzerland. (Nice interiors.- Would be great for HBLR Englewood service.) 01/28/14 28 signs you commute on New Jersey Transit. 02/02/14 LIRR vs NJT: High-level vs low-level platforms. (Courtesy of The LIRR Today) 02/06/14 Take a ride on Adelaide s new electric trains. (5+ minute VIDEO from 11/28/13) 02/06/14 The incredible rise of off-peak public transportation. 02/08/14 The wild abandoned railway in the center of Paris. (4+ minute VIDEO by BBC from 10/28/13.) 02/12/14 The 12 most interesting Metro stations in Europe. (Be sure to click the link under the photo) Next NJ-ARP Board Meeting to be held Saturday, March 22 NJ-ARP s next Board Meeting will be an AT COST (under $10) breakfast meeting on Saturday, March 22 at the Cafe Beethoven in Chatham at 262 Main Street, commencing at 9:30 a.m. The Cafe is about two blocks from the Chatham train station. Free parking is also available. The meeting will last about two hours. Those wishing to attend the meeting should please NJ-ARP at njarp@nj-arp.org at least three (3) weekdays prior to the meeting, leaving your name and phone number so we can notify the venue of how many members are attending and reach you in the event of any changes of time or venue. Survey says: Convenience rules and to heck with comfort! Our third member Web site survey asked the question: What makes you take the train or bus? Respondents were asked to rate, in order of importance: Comfort on the vehicle or waiting for the vehicle. Convenience getting to the station/bus stop & back. Running time between origin and destination, and Frequency of service. The survey had 67 hits, yet only 15 members (22%) chose to respond to the question. Convenience seemed to win out as the main selling point with 7 members rating it as most important. Running time was second most important (4 members), frequency of service was next (with 3 members). Not a solitary person picked comfort. That probably explains passengers willing to accept middle seats on trains or those terribly narrow and uncomfortable bus seats. Members were also asked for comments. Those are, of course, anonymous. One member stated, I think Cost should have been the 5th variable. If parking costs and tunnel fees were lower, more people would drive to NYC & perhaps Newark. Another member wrote that half-hourly weekend service on the M&E would make it more likely that I would use the train versus driving into New York. The comment resonating most with me was, The main reason I take the train/bus to work is to allow me to have a one-car household where I don t need a car to get to work every day. Having one car vs. two saves money in the long run even with my monthly transit ticket cost included. After having my compact car stolen off the streets of New York, for the third time in two years, I decided to forgo driving, and my wife and I became a one-car household. In 21 years with only one car, we ve only needed to resort to rentals a handful of times, mostly when our primary car was under extensive repairs. At an average cost of about $25,000 per car, we assume that we ve saved at least $100,000 on four cars alone. Convenience also seems to be the reason so many folks drive. I ve been lucky enough to live in an area where I had the choice of two NJT train lines, express bus, two local buses to both PA terminals plus a convenient bus from Montvale to Tarrytown or White Plains to connect to Metro- North for the trip to GCT. We should all be so lucky! Les Wolff, Editor NJ-ARP NEWSLETTER REPORT Editors: Douglas John Bowen and Lester W. Wolff Production: Lester W. Wolff Additional reporting by Jishnu Mukerji and Joe Versaggi The New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers (NJ-ARP), founded in 1980, is an Independent Advocacy Association. NEWSLETTER REPORT February 22, 2014, Page 6