Quote:
Originally Posted by ChargerCarl
Isn't that like a $2 billion for an estimated 6000 riders a day? How is that good news?
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It's actually $1 billion in PA funding, plus $700 million in private investment. Presumably the $1 billion is the true cost of the extension, and the $700M is for a giant park-and-ride, hotel, and other transit village development.
$1 billion is still not great for 6,000 riders, but not as horrible as the full $1.7B price tag makes it seem. On the bright side, it makes it more feasible to think about an infill station at South St in Newark, as well as an extension down to Elizabeth. Both such extensions would generate lots of ridership and development if they were ever to happen.
Still, the price tag is exorbitant, especially when capacity and service improvements that would make the PATH so much better for its daily riders would cost a fraction of this. For instance, the capital plan includes money to buy new cars so that PATH can increase rush hour frequency/capacity by 20%, to the tune of only $148 million.