>Has NJT experienced a spike in ridership since the increase in gasoline >prices. If todays generation only knew of the accesibility that was It has seen an increase in ridership. That was clear on our Memorial Day trip to Port Jervis, where we went on a picnic on the Delaware River. The trip to Port Jervis (on the train leaving Secaucus Jct at 11:31) was normal -- save for a very unfriendly trainman on the cab taking photos. We were the only passengers in our coach after Middletown. But on the return trip on the tran leaving at 5:31, nearly every seat had at least one passenger whenm we left Port Jervis. The line at the TVM was so long that the conductor -- about 10 minutes before departure -- announced that there would be no penalty for purchasing tickets on the train -- only those using credit cards should use the TVM. We still left a minute or two late waiting for the slow TVM to take care of everyone. By Monroe, most of the three-seaters were filled, and there were standees after Suffern. Nearly everyone made the transfer at Secaucus to a bilevel train that was so crowded people were even standing on the steps going up and dow; we rode in the vestibule as there was no room to enter the car. Gate attendants also slowed things down as they checked the many cash fare receipts and manally opened gates to allow people to make the transfer. Chalk it up to high gas prices, the Short Line strike, and the connection to Penn Station or a combination of the three, but not bad for the ex-Erie line that had even lost weekend service years ago. >once out there when you could take the morning commuter train from >Newton to Hoboken. If the Sussex Branch were still in place, NJT could New Jersey did not have Robert Moses to keep all the bridges too low for buses. Given that Long Island still has all the commuter lines that were operating on the eve of WWII, and that Westchester lost only the Putnam line and part of the NYW&B vs. all that New Jersey lost (Northern, West Shore, NYS&W, Greenwood Lake, Essex Fells, Newark Branch, Newton/Branchville, Washington, LV, CNJ beyond Hiugh Bridge, the ex C&A, CNJ Southern Division and Atlantic Highlands -- replaed with those long lines of buses heading to the Port of Authority Bus Terminal daily, it's a real indicator of the different attitudes prevalent in commuter transportation planning in each state. Of course, New Jersey seemed to spawn more railfans over the years, but I've always said that was a result of the sun being in the right place during the commuter hours <g>. Cheers, Jim Guthrie ELHS $1296 The Erie Lackawanna Mailing List http://EL-List.railfan.net/ To Unsubscribe: http://Lists.Railfan.net/erielackunsub.html ------------------------------
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