River Line Finding More Riders after 2 Years

March 11, 2006 -- This semester, Mindy Chapin gave up her parking pass at Rutgers University's Camden campus, a sign that she was sold on the River Line, the much-derided Camden-to-Trenton train that began carrying passengers two years ago this week.

Now, Chapin, a nursing student drives a few miles from her home in Moorestown to the station in Palmyra, where she catches a River Line train to campus. "It's just less stressful," said Chapin, textbook in hand, who noted the train allows her to study on her way in.

One by one, Chapin and other converts are driving up ridership dramatically for the line, though the increases are not putting a dent in the amount the line is costing taxpayers.

In February, the weekday average ridership was 6,912 - nearly 1,000 more than in February 2005.

"We are making it work," said Joe North, NJ Transit's general manager for light rail operations. "It is becoming an effective people-moving transit system."

Whether the River Line would become a cost-effective way to move commuters has always been a big question, largely because the line stretches through several old industrial communities where the population has declined.

Fares for mass transit systems rarely cover all operating costs, and taxpayers make up the difference.

The government subsidy for the River Line is exceptionally high. For each one-way trip, the state pays $7.77 per passenger just to cover the operating cost - compared with $3.21 for New Jersey's other light rail system, the Hudson-Bergen line.

In addition, it costs New Jersey taxpayers about $49 million a year to pay back the debt incurred for construction of the River Line.

On most big transportation projects, including the Hudson-Bergen line, the federal government pays part of the construction bill. But for the River Line, which cost around $600 million to build, the federal government did not help because it didn't think the line was necessary.

Despite an increasing number of passengers, River Line ridership is low. The Hudson-Bergen line, which runs through a densely populated area just across the Hudson River from Manhattan, has about three times as many weekday riders as the River Line.

NJ Transit officials say that the line's success should not be judged by how many riders it carries, but rather how much economic development it sparks along its 34-mile route.

Some businesses have said that the trains were a major factor in their decisions to open or expand along the route. In Cinnaminson, for example, a new residential development will have direct access to the train platform. And since the line opened in Riverside, Zena's Patisserie & Cafe, across from a station, has expanded from a small bakery to a booming lunch spot.

The line serves passengers who connect in Trenton on their way to New York City and those who switch in Camden to go into Center City Philadelphia, as well as those whose ride ends in Camden or Trenton.

Camden's aquarium, amphitheater and minor-league baseball park and other attractions have helped boost ridership, especially in the summer and on weekends, North said. The best months in each of the first two years came in the summer, with 199,361 riders in July 2004 and 215,537 in July 2005.

Two factors in the past year have made the River Line more attractive to New York-bound commuters, North said. In July, NJ Transit raised the fare from $1.10 to $1.25 per one-way ride, but also started allowing people with weekly or monthly rail passes to ride for free. And in October, Amtrak ended a service for commuters between the Philadelphia area and New York, making the River Line more attractive for some Philadelphia-area commuters.

North said the River Line is trying to be convenient to the growing number of southern New Jersey residents who work in New York City, by setting schedules that accommodate transfers with NJ Transit's Northeast Corridor line.

Southbound in the morning, trains can be standing-room only as they head into Camden, filled with Rutgers students, people who work in Camden and others who connect in Camden to catch buses or PATCO trains into Philadelphia.

Passengers seem to have little to complain about the train, other than wishing it ran later at night. North said the River Line received the highest score ever on a recent NJ Transit customer satisfaction survey.

One of the satisfied riders the other day was Jomar Paez, 21, who was heading to class at DeVry University in Philadelphia after getting on a few blocks from his home in Palmyra.

"It's much easier than taking the bus," he said.

http://www.riverline.com

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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