(The following story by Jennifer Moroz appeared on the Philadelphia Inquirer website on September 10.)
PHILADELPHIA — Let Richard Holmes Jr. count the ways he loves NJ Transit’s River Line.
He loves that the light-rail service is faster than the bus, cutting 45 minutes out of his trip from his Camden home to work at Burlington Coat Factory in Beverly. He loves that it is comfortable and on time. And he loves that it costs only $1.10.
The only problem, according to coworker Mark Brown from Roebling, is that finding a seat at rush hour is often tough. “I think it’s doing a lot better than some people thought it would.”
It’s no screaming success. But six months after its debut March 14, the disputed Camden-to-Trenton line is doing better than NJ Transit officials expected.
Through the end of August, the line averaged 4,782 one-way passenger trips a day.
Last month, the service averaged 5,643 trips on weekdays. That was just shy of the 5,700 daily trips that McGreevey administration officials thought they could eke out by the end of the service’s first year.
As with most public transportation, weekend ridership has been lower. Last month, the line averaged 4,626 Saturday trips and 3,601 Sunday trips.
“We’re certainly ahead of where we thought we’d be after six months,” NJ Transit spokeswoman Penny Bassett-Hackett said. But ridership is still far below the 11,200 daily trips that Whitman administration officials put forth in 1996 to justify what was predicted to be a $314 million project.
That ridership estimate fell steadily through the years. Meanwhile, the project’s cost spiraled to $1.1 billion, prompting critics to pounce. Even transit officials in the McGreevey administration criticized the line as an ill-advised use of coveted transportation money, but resolved to make the best of the situation.
They joined supporters in promoting the line not so much as a solution to a transportation problem, but as an economic-development tool that would, over the next few decades, help revive the struggling river towns through which it runs.
Bystanders these days may see railcars passing with standing room only and equate that with success. But looks can be deceiving. The line often runs just one railcar at a time, and each holds just 190 people, 96 of those seated.
At the end of the fiscal year, June 30, the line was recovering just under 11 percent of its operating costs. NJ Transit rail lines average about 70 percent.
And some of the people riding may not become the regular users. Some, NJ Transit officials acknowledge, are likely on board for novelty’s sake, to check out the service and its sleek German-made railcars.
Special events during the summer, such as July Fourth celebrations on the waterfront, also inflated numbers. Ridership peaked Friday, July 2, at almost 10,000 trips.
But for the most part, officials predict, ridership is rising and will continue to do so because the service is reliable (it has a record of being 94 percent on time), cheap and comfortable.
Plus, NJ Transit has spent $900,000 marketing the line, and expects to spend at least $100,000 more. Officials have given the service its own Web site (www.riverline.com) and have bombarded potential passengers with mailers, radio spots and print ads.
They have offered free rides and synchronized schedules to improve connections into New York via NJ Transit’s Northeast Corridor and to the Statehouse in Trenton by way of the Capitol Connection bus route.
They have also partnered with institutions and venues – including Rutgers University-Camden, the New Jersey State Aquarium, and Campbell’s Field – to promote the line for getting to everything from English class to a baseball game.
Transit officials have had their work cut out for them in marketing a line that started out with some major scheduling problems.
Because Conrail has overnight rights to the track, the last trains from Camden and Trenton originally left around 9 p.m. – too early, for instance, for many concertgoers streaming out of Camden’s Tweeter Center. Officials have since negotiated limited late-night hours.
Officials in June also began running trains every 15 minutes during rush hours. Off-peak trains run every 30 minutes.
Transit officials say their efforts are paying off, and not just in ridership. Burlington County and municipal officials say developers have begun taking a serious interest in the depressed corridor, drawn at least in part by the rail line and the easy access it offers.
“There’s a lot of activity behind the scenes right now,” said Mark Remsa, Burlington County’s director of economic development. Developers “are saying, ‘We’re here because we like the location, we like the traditional downtown setting, and we like the light rail.’… These are projects that will help reshape the physical and economic landscape.”
In Riverside, for example, plans are moving ahead for the redevelopment of the so-called Golden Triangle, a 32-acre site across from the light-rail stop and anchored by the historic Watch Case Tower. Nearby, the owners of the Madison Pub, steady proponents of the rail line, plan an extensive expansion. And municipal officials say more than one developer has shown interest in converting the old Taubel mill, right beside the tracks, into loft apartments or condominiums.
In Camden, the River Line has given the struggling waterfront “a big boost,” said Judy London, president of the South Jersey Tourism Corp. and executive director of the Camden Waterfront Marketing Bureau.
Taking the River Line “is an adventure – as much of an adventure as our own attractions,” she said. “It’s fun, and the kids love it.”
Joe North, general manager of light-rail operations for NJ Transit, called the line’s first six months “a good start.”
“I think the public has reacted favorably to the service,” he said. “But by no means will we rest on our laurels. Every year, we’ll just keep building and building.”