Transit Briefs: PATH, TriMet, Metrolinx, MBTA

PATH

PANY/NJ on Oct. 23 reported that PATH ridership set several post-pandemic records in September 2024:

• Ridership grew to 5.12 million passengers in September, the rapid transit system’s busiest month since pre-pandemic February 2020. It also represented 74% of September 2019 ridership, the system’s best performance to date relative to the same month in 2019.  
• Ridership surpassed the previous post-pandemic monthly high of 5.01 million passengers set in May 2024.
• Average weekday ridership was up 15% from September 2023 and surpassed 200,000 riders for the first time since before the pandemic. Weekends also continued to see growth. Average Saturday ridership during the month surpassed average Saturday ridership in September 2019 by about 2%, finishing at 117,930 riders. September 2024’s average Sunday ridership of 87,805 came in just 3% below September 2019. Both metrics were about 25% higher than September 2023’s averages. 

Year-to-date, PATH has welcomed 42 million passengers, a 13% jump from the same period in 2023.

PATH has also seen a rise in the number of customers using TAPP, the new tap-to-pay fare collection option that has been available at all PATH stations since May, PANY/NJ said. TAPP currently accounts for more than 55% of all weekday rides and is approaching 70% usage on weekends. Since its launch in December 2023, riders have “TAPPed” into the system more than 17 million times. TAPP allows passengers to pay fares at select turnstiles with the tap of a contactless debit/credit card, smartphone or wearable device, instead of the PATH-issued SmartLink cards or pay-per-ride MetroCards that have been in use since 2008. 

“As ridership returns closer to pre-pandemic levels, PATH is instituting a number of service and schedule enhancements to better accommodate the growing numbers of passengers and provide an easier, safer, and more comfortable travel experience for its customers,” PANY/NJ said. The rapid transit service on Oct. 14 expanded capacity on its Newark-World Trade Center line. Nine-car trainsets now operate on that line, on both weekdays and weekends. The addition of the ninth car represents a 12.5% increase in capacity on each train, the agency said. Additionally, PATH has decreased wait times for trains running during the morning peak hours on the Journal Square-33 St. line from five to four minutes; these shorter waits and more frequent service went into effect on Oct. 14. 

“The recovery of PATH’s ridership is strong and getting stronger,” said Clarelle DeGraffe, PATH Director/General Manager and a 2020 honoree of Railway Age’s Women in Rail awards program. “As ridership continues to increase, we’re adding new initiatives, scheduling updates, and travel enhancements that will better serve this growing customer base.” 

Separately, Sanchita Banerjee-Jimenez, Deputy Director, Operations and Customer Experience at PATH has been named one of Railway Age’s 25 Women in Rail Award honorees for 2024.

TriMet

TriMet on Oct. 23 reported that its Security Operations Center fully opened in September—bringing together all security resources under one roof, including the 24/7 security hotline that was established in 2023.

“Over the past two and a half years, TriMet has more than doubled the number of safety and security personnel we have on the system, improved lighting at stations and parking lots, and upgraded closed-circuit security camera views,” said the agency, which provides light rail, commuter rail, bus and paratransit services in the Portland, Ore., metropolitan area. “Those improvements come in addition to TriMet’s recent efforts to enhance station and vehicle cleaning, as well as boost enforcement of our rules. The Security Operations Center combines all these investments into one centralized location.”

TriMet has seven dispatchers and around 475 field staff and contractors dedicated to the safety and well-being of riders and employees. Spread across various teams, the field staff includes Transit Security Officers, Customer Safety Supervisors, Customer Safety Officers, and Safety Response Team—all of whom can be dispatched through the Security Operations Center. They do everything from enforcing rules for riding, including checking fares, to performing welfare checks and connecting people to social services.

TriMet also has On-Street Customer Service. While not security, they do provide an extra presence on the system. They will also report suspicious or inappropriate behavior. But mostly they’re available to help in any way they can, according to TriMet. Whether they’re answering rider questions or supporting special events and service disruptions, their mission is to ease barriers to riding, the agency noted.

Behavior on or near the transit system has improved with changes in criminal law and community initiatives, as well as the addition of more TriMet safety and security resources, TriMet reported. The Safety Response Team, which performs welfare checks on and around our transit system, assisted more than 4,000 people and connected another 6,000 to social services in 2023. The Transit Police Division, overseen by the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, “now has more time to conduct safety and security operations—patrols and missions—which led to a reduction in calls for police service by more than 50% between 2021 and 2023,” according to TriMet. 

The transit agency said it continues to roll out new tools to deter unsafe, illegal or inappropriate behavior around the transit system. Earlier this month, it began installing the first blue-light security phones, which give the public a direct line of communication to the dispatchers in its Security Operations Center. A total of 14 of the security phones will be installed on platforms between the Rose Quarter and the Gateway Transit Center.

“This is really just the beginning,” TriMet Executive Director of Safety & Security Andrew Wilson said. “We continue to build out our emergency response capabilities at TriMet. We’ve heard it from our riders, and we’ve heard it from our employees—that we need to be able to react to the needs that are out there with the tools that we have developed.”

Separately, TriMet has achieved the highest possible bond rating from Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) for the seventh consecutive year.

Metrolinx

Metrolinx has wrapped up an accessibility project at Eglinton GO commuter rail station, part of the Lakeshore East Line and located near the intersection of Eglinton Avenue East and McCowan Road. The station was built in 1978 and underwent rehabilitation work in 2000.  

Improvements include: 

• Platform canopies.
• Pedestrian tunnels with elevators to stairwells and platforms. 
• Accessible mini platforms that enable level boarding and exiting of accessibility commuter railcars.
• Barrier-free accessibility parking spaces in the south parking lot. 
• Rehabilitated rail-side platforms with tactile-tile edges.
• Upgraded CCTV, lighting, and public address systems. 
• Landscaping. 
• Reconfigured pick-up and drop-off area. 
• Improved wayfinding signage.

The upgrades are part of the larger GO Expansion program and will prepare the station to support increased two-way, all-day service in years to come, according to Metrolinx. There are currently 251,000 GO rider boardings at Eglinton GO Station per year, and this number is expected to rise to 1.6 million annual boardings by 2041. Improving infrastructure at existing stations, it noted, “is essential to supporting population growth, meeting increased ridership demands and moving people across the region faster, safer and more seamlessly.”

In a related development, Metrolinx in November will offer more rush-hour trips on the GO Milton Line.

MBTA

MBTA on Oct. 22 reported completing track work on the Orange Line while service was suspended between Forest Hills and Back Bay from Oct. 8 to Oct. 20 with the service suspension extended between Forest Hills and North Station during the holiday weekend of Oct. 12 through Oct. 14. The work has allowed the transit agency to lift 20 speed restrictions, and as the result of its yearlong Track Improvement Program, only 1% of the entire MBTA transit system remains speed restricted.

Crews performed the following work: 

• Replaced approximately 27,594 feet of rail.
• Resurfaced and tamped approximately 1,900 feet of track.  
• Replaced more than 336 ties.  
• Inserted 19 full concrete direct fixation panels, 38 half concrete direct fixation panels, and 53 quarter concrete direct fixation panels. 
• Added more than 250 core X shoulder posts. 

As a result, the following safety-related speed restrictions are no longer in place: 

A variety of other work also took place along the Orange Line, with crews:  

• Replacing six switch machines at track crossover locations.
• Replacing and repairing approximately 80 feet of handrails at the Forest Hills upper lobby and repairing the stairway at the end of the platform leading to the right of way. 
• Repairing stairs at Jackson Square Station.  
• Repairing other areas throughout the station and at Forest Hills that cause trip hazards. 
• Inspecting and clearing drains at stations and platforms throughout the diversion area. 
• Performing preventative maintenance and cleared drains in public restrooms. 
• Painting customer-facing assets like poles, doors, benches, walls, restrooms, and sign frames at stations. 
• Replacing and installing LED light fixtures in various stations. 
• Conducting power and signal modernization work. 
• Testing and upgrading security cameras. 
• Building out and completing new unistrut framing at the Ruggles southbound platform. 
• Installing rub rail on the southbound side of Jackson Square, Roxbury Crossing, and Stony Brook, as well as on the northbound and southbound sides of Forest Hills. 
• Replacing third-rail signs between Forest Hills and Massachusetts Avenue.  
• Replacing doors at the South Cove pump room and on the Stony Brook platform. 
• Inspecting tunnel areas throughout the suspension area as well as emergency egresses. 
• Clearing roof drains in various locations at Forest Hills. 
• Assisting Capital Delivery teams at Jackson Square, coring holes on the platform to assess the integrity of the bricks and mortar bed in preparation for a future Capital project. 
• Removing scrap rail from the tunnel area. 

“We are committed to giving the public what they expect and deserve: safe, reliable, and improved service,” MBTA CEO and General Manager Phillip Eng said. “This Orange Line diversion allowed us to perform long-deferred infrastructure work, eliminating all the speed restrictions to provide a smoother ride with shorter travel time, giving people precious time back in their lives. As we rebuild the T, I hope to restore public trust and confidence, making the MBTA the preferred choice of travel. Soon, the Orange Line will be completely free of slow zones. With only 1% of our system remaining with restrictions, we are on our way to fulfilling our promise to the public we serve, eliminating all the speed restrictions systemwide under this Track Improvement Program.”

In other MBTA news, the transit agency and operating partner Keolis Commuter Services recently introduced a marketing campaign designed to attract more riders.