I’ve been riding New Jersey Transit for just about four years now. In fact, I’ve taken the same train, number 6410 at 6:55 AM, nearly every single day of my OP career. But lately, New Jersey Transit has become less and less reliable as my ride to school.

Since the year began, my train has not departed Gladstone “due to mechanical problems” at least two or three times. I have had three days where service was completely suspended (one day of which I was in transit, bussed to a station, and told to wait for forty minutes before a train would come). And on the day of the infamous “wall collapse”, I was indeed on the train when the concrete damaged the train car.

The question that I have to ask is what do the taxpayers of New Jersey need to do for improved transit service? New Jersey Transit already has one of the highest fare-per-mile ratios among transit systems in the United States, and transportation funds have woefully been underfunded. (Note that I am not complaining about the numerous professional and dedicated staff – conductors, station agents, and more – that I encounter every day; rather I commend them for putting up with irate commuters on a frequent basis!) The answer is simple – vote in an informed manner. While many readers will not be able to vote in November, those who will (seniors, I’m looking at you) should definitely consider if you consider effective mass transit an important issue for our state. If you do, vote accordingly, because we have the right for our tax dollars to be used effectively.

Photo Credit: NJ.COM