Proposed Overnight PATH Cuts Indefinitely Tabled by Port Authority
New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney and New Jersey Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto announced today that Port Authority Chairman John Degnan has committed to indefinitely table the proposal eliminate overnight PATH service that was included in a report prepared by Governors’ Christie and Cuomo’s special panel. The move followed strong opposition by local, state, and federal officials, and a unanimous vote by the Hoboken City Council on a resolution opposing service cuts.
In a letter sent to the two state officials after meeting with them on January 13th, Degnan said he had agreed to their request in an earlier meeting to not move forward with any consideration of the proposed cuts, and noted, “the Panel’s suggestion has not even been presented to the board of commissioners.”
Mayors of the two Hudson County cities that would have been affected by the proposed cuts issued statements thanking Degnan for taking the proposal out of consideration.
Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer:
I thank Chairman Degnan for listening to our voices and for taking the idea of PATH overnight service cuts off the table,” said Mayor Dawn Zimmer. “With 56% of Hoboken residents using public transportation to commute each day – the highest rate not just in the state, but in the nation – the success of our community and region is intrinsically linked to a robust mass transit system. Going forward, we should be focused on ideas to expand, not cut public transportation options within our region.
Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop:
We want to thank the 20 elected officials that have been a part of this process as well specifically Senator Menendez, Jamie Fox, Speaker Prieto and Senate President Sweeney. Now that [Port Authority Chair John] Degnan has agreed to not cut PATH service, we should start considering the expansion of the service as I think this process has hopefully opened the Port Authority’s eyes to the importance of the service.
Sweeney and Prieto also issued statements thanking Degnan:
Nighttime @PATHTrain service is saved thanks to Chairman Degnan’s willingness to work with us on this important issue http://t.co/oOX8dwDs9t
— Steve Sweeney (@NJSenatePres) January 14, 2015
Cutting overnight @PATHTrain was a bad idea and I'm glad @NJSenatePres and I could work with @PANYNJ to set it aside http://t.co/29duX7MMdl
— Vincent Prieto (@VincentPrieto) January 14, 2015
