The Jersey City Independent"

Environment New Jersey released a report yesterday on ridership statistics for the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail (HBLR), and what those statistics mean in terms of overall environmental quality and land-use policy.

The group found that nearly 16 million riders used the HBLR system in 2007, a more than 13 percent increase over 2007’s ridership numbers. That outpaces the national growth of light rail use, which was up 8 percent nationwide over the same time period.

Expanding the data range (see figure at right), the increase in ridership becomes even more impressive. In 2004, about 6 million riders used the system, which means that the HBLR brought on about 10 million new users in just a four-year period.

The ridership gains, Environment New Jersey points out, are good news for the environment, as light rail use has much less negative environmental impact than the nation’s dominant transportation mode, the automobile. According to the group’s calculations, the HBLR saved commuters more than 3.4 million gallons of gas in 2008, which is the amount of fuel consumed by 6,000 cars over a year.

But using the light rail — or the PATH, the bus, a bicycle or your feet — doesn’t just take steps towards saving the environment. As anyone who lives an auto-free life (this writer included) can tell you, these choices save you money as well. The American Transportation Association calculates that owning one less car saves a household more than $9,000 per year.

“Public transportation is the lifeblood for many New Jersey families looking to cut costs, especially during these tough economic conditions,” Tri-State Transportation Campaign federal advocate Ya-Ting Liu says in a statement.

As the HBLR gets ready to turn 10 (it was established in 2000), expansion is afoot. The line is currently being extended south to 8th Street in Bayonne; studies are currently being done to assess the feasibility of extending it west to the Hackensack River waterfront; and construction is set to begin in 2011 on an estimated $900 million project to extend the line 11 miles north into Bergen County.

While all of these expansion projects are worthy, the Bergen extension in particular has the potential to be a huge boon for the region — and for residents of Jersey City. The line, which officials predict will serve 24,000 customers a day, will weave Bergen County into the mass-transit fabric of the region. Currently, only 17 percent of Bergen commuters use rail — for Hudson commuters, that percentage is doubled. But the Bergen line isn’t just about Bergen’s commuters, it is about greater access to outlying areas of the region — and the jobs and other opportunities that are there — for Jersey City’s residents.

The light rail report comes with a message to Congress: increase investment in public transportation projects.

“Each time someone rides the Hudson Bergen Light Rail, they are voting with their feet to make New Jersey more energy independent,” Environment New Jersey transportation advocate Rob McCulloch says in a statement. “Congress should heed these voters and invest more in public transportation, which will increase our energy independence and reduce global warming pollution.”