NJ Lawmakers: Proposal To Eliminate Overnight PATH Service Put On Hold
TRENTON, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The Port Authority is tabling a proposal to eliminate overnight PATH service, two New Jersey lawmakers announced Wednesday.
Senate President Steve Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto said Port Authority Chairman John Degnan agreed to put the proposal on hold.
"We had a dialogue with the chairman. We expressed our concerns. He listened, and we came to an agreement where they're going to suspend that topic indefinitely," Sweeney told 1010 WINS. "We think it's the right decision."
NJ Lawmakers: Proposal To Eliminate Overnight PATH Service Put On Hold
In a statement, Sweeney called the decision "a victory for the hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyans who ride on the PATH system."
The suggestion to eliminate PATH service between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. on weeknights was part of a report from a special panel formed by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to reform the Port Authority.
The governors offered the recommendations after they both vetoed an overhaul of the agency.
About 2,000 people ride PATH trains during the overnight hours — just under 1 percent of daily ridership. The recommendation said stopping service could save $10 million a year and help deal with the agency's $387 million deficit.
But news of the possible service suspension angered riders and many elected officials, including the mayors of Jersey City, Newark and Hoboken and others.
In a letter to Sweeney and Prieto, Degnan said the reduction of overnight PATH service was "one of many ideas expressed by the panel for further consideration."
He said the panel's suggestion had not been presented to the Board of Commissioners and said if the board were to take up the issue in the future, "any proposed reduction in PATH service would first require detailed study, consultation with local public officials and other interested parties, and of course a series of public hearings to be attended by commissioners."
Prieto called the proposal "a bad idea from the start" and said he was glad to see it set aside.
"This is a win for the residents and the riders," Prieto told WCBS 880's Levon Putney.
Prieto said it was not just about late-night bar hoppers and clubgoers.
"There's the people that work. They work those jobs," he said. "They clean offices. They work in those restaurants and those bars and all these things, and that then, how do they get home?"
Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer and Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop also issued statements following Wednesday's announcement.
"I thank Chairman Degnan for listening to our voices and for taking the idea of PATH overnight service cuts off the table," Zimmer said. "Going forward, we should be focused on ideas to expand, not cut public transportation options within our region,"
"Now that Degnan has agreed to not cut PATH service, we should start considering the expansion of the service as I think this process has hopefully opened the Port Authority's eyes to the importance of the service," Fulop said.
PATH carries an estimated 73 million riders annually but revenue per rider is low compared to other transit systems around the country.
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