Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Port Authority May Cancel Late-Night PATH Trains to Save Money

By Gwynne Hogan | January 5, 2015 4:54pm
 The Port Authority may cancel late weeknight service on the PATH train to cut costs.
The Port Authority may cancel late weeknight service on the PATH train to cut costs.
View Full Caption
DNAinfo

NEW YORK CITY — PATH trains may stop running overnight on weekdays as officials seek to cut costs, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said.

The proposal to stop PATH service from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. on weeknights would save the Port Authority $10 million a year, officials said.

The PATH service cuts are just one of several options the Port Authority is considering in the face of the PATH system's growing budget deficit, officials said.

“Curtailment of PATH service would be a last resort,” Port Authority Chairman John Degnan said in a statement on Monday. “This is only one of several ideas being considered to get the PATH deficit under control.”

Degnan said service would only be cut after the Port Authority received input from local elected officials and held public hearings.

Between 2004 and 2013, the PATH train's operating deficit grew by 30 percent, according to a 2014 report from Citizens Budget Commission. 

Governors Andrew Cuomo and Chris Christie and Port Authority leaders convened a special panel last year hoping to identify ways to reduce the deficit.

In late December, that panel released a report with its recommendations, including nixing PATH train service on weeknights.

The report also suggested increasing advertising revenue and applying for federal subsidies from the Federal Transit Administration.

Opponents of PATH service cuts are already voicing concern in New Jersey. Local elected officials gathered Monday afternoon at the Grove Street PATH Station in Jersey City to denounce any changes to the commuter train’s schedule.