NJ Transit will receive $1.6 billion in federal coronavirus transit aid, which comes as the agency reports a sudden drop in ridership due to the statewide surge of positive tests for the omicron variant of COVID-19.
U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and U.S. Senators Cory Booker and Robert Menendez, D-N.J., confirmed the amount coming from the American Rescue Plan, designed to prevent service cuts and transit worker layoffs due to revenue losses from coronavirus-related ridership declines.
NJ Transit officials said that money is needed after ridership fell sharply in late December as more people tested positive for the omicron variant -- a trend that just showed the first signs of possibly slowing Wednesday.
“The ability to maintain regular service at this time is proof positive of the vital importance of the federal funding we received through CARES, CRRSSA (Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act) and ARP,” said Kevin Corbett, NJ Transit CEO and president.
“Thanks to this funding, NJ Transit continues to keep our state moving at this critical time, in addition to keeping customers and employees safe and maintain our aggressive cleaning protocols,” he said.
The funding, intended for the New York-Northern New Jersey-Connecticut urban region was awarded after an agreement was reached in November between the three states on how to divide ARP and CRRSSA funds after a 10-month stalemate. It was part of a larger $14 billion in federal CRRSSA and ARP aid to keep transit systems running during the pandemic.
That agreement sent a total of $10.85 billion to New York, $2.66 billion to New Jersey, and $474 million to Connecticut from both relief acts. The FTA announced that the MTA received $6.2 billion in ARP funds.
After months of ridership gains, especially on weekends, NJ Transit officials recently reported sudden ridership drops that coincided with the omicron spike. Keeping service at pre-pandemic levels, even with fewer riders, allows passengers to social distance.
Weekday rail ridership, which had been at 55% of pre-pandemic levels, dropped to 30% to 35% in the last few weeks, and weekend ridership which had hit 80% of pre-COVID levels, plummeted to 40% to 50%, Corbett said.
Prior to Christmas week, systemwide bus ridership was at 70% of pre-COVID-19 levels.
“Since that time both inter and intrastate ridership declined to 50%,” Corbett said.
Light rail ridership remained steady ay 70% of pre-pandemic levels.
“I’m proud to have fought for this critical funding, which will ensure NJ Transit can get residents safely where they need to go, keep essential workers on the job, and our economy moving forward,” Menendez said in a statement.
Buttigieg said the transit funding will help essential workers, who’ve ridden transit throughout the pandemic, “reach their jobs at hospitals, grocery stores, ports, and more.”
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Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com.
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January 13, 2022 at 05:16AM
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NJ Transit gets $1.6B in aid as ridership drops during omicron surge, feds say - NJ.com
"drops" - Google News
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