The best commuter agency

The funding disparity between the MTA and NJ Transit has shown up recently in greatly improved LIRR and Metro-North service while NJT stays the same/regresses. It is rather frustrating that MTA gets full control of the bridges/tunnels (and associated revenues) over the East River (in addition to a dedicated tax) but the Hudson River crossings get ceded to the Port Authority, meaning NJT relies 100% on appropriations by the state. Of course SEPTA is even worse because Harrisburg hates Philadelphia due to the rural/urban divide in that state. This of course reflects in SEPTA having circa-1985 infrastructure, both good (CCCT) and bad (falling apart everything else).

i am surprised njt does not have alot of traffic going into the city on the weekends. some of the MNCR trains going to city friday and saturday night can get packed then again you can also bring Drinks on MNCR

what does last statement have to do with what agency is best ??

I assume being able to bring drinks on board is one of his criteria for what makes a commuter agency best.

Patrick Boylan wrote:I assume being able to bring drinks on board is one of his criteria for what makes a commuter agency best.

This is the correct answer.

i know it's a big plus to me. train drinking is fun

Let's not forget that many (most?) of the things that affect service quality are political decisions. Railroad employees have little or no say over things like fares, stop spacing, old equipment/facilities and insufficient capacity. So no one agency is "the best" but I think we all agree that they do an amazing job of working within those limitations. Of course, critiquing different features is totally fair game and a great exercise for planners like myself.

Very interesting topic i must say. The only agencies i have rode have been SEPTA , NJ TRANSIT, LIRR . I live in Philly and i always say and feel the NJ TRANSIT Seems to be on the money. Its like they always seem to have new rolling stock. I love the fact that the state gives them good funding and understands that it moves its people. I ride the NEC the most ridden line on the system, i think the schedules are good. I love the EXPRESS SERVICE FROM NY - TRENTON AND VICE VERSA. I just really enjoy the system.
I rode LIRR this summer 2x for the first time. I loved it. It was smooth and fastttt. I rode the Ronkonkma (i think i spelled it right lol) LINE. Love the views.

Last and not least, SEPTA...Born and raised and i will say i love my system. Do i think it could be better i think so. I love the new railcars that we got in 2011-12....they are fast and comfy. the acceleration is crazy lol. They are attractive, the rest of the system i think is fine, I do think the schedules could be better on the weekends. But someone mentioned about how Harrisburg seems to hate Public Transit it is very true, and i have to say for a city with 1+Million people and the money SEPTA get''s...it still makes the system very on par with the rest of Northeastern Cities and agencies. The fare system may not be fully upgraded yet. But for a city this size , it sure does serve the area very very well and for commuters in Delaware,and some of NJ ( Trenton / West Trenton) . I always tell people that it could be a whole lot worse , say like the city of ATL where their gov't tells them how to spend their money and they dont have as much transit options as we do. SEPTA makes due with what it has and you cant deny them for that. And no the system is not falling apart.

I love the scenery on all three agencies i must say. But its so funny to me, because it just all looks the same to me weirdly .

The best commuter agency, well that depends on what criteria you're going on. Now mind you I've only ridden the Long Island Railroad, New Jersey Transit, Metro North, and for the first time back in early June Metra. If the criteria for the best commuter agency is service levels I have to give all three of these excellent organizations a tie, as they offer exceptional service to a wide area of suburbs and in some cases other cities. In terms of structures I have to give that edge to both New Jersey Transit & Metro North, as they have saved and restored many of the historic stations that still service New Jersey Transit commuter trains, a close second would go to Metra ( I really have to admire some of the structures I saw even if it was just one line ), with third going to the Long Island Railroad ( they have saved and restored quite a few of their structures but I feel the days for some of them are numbered ). In terms of equipment I have to give a slight edge to New Jersey Transit ( out of all three New York area railroads they seem to have invested the most in sensible equipment upgrades ), I would have to say Metra gets a good nod as you can still enjoy that UN-obstructed front window view ( a view that offers some impressive photography if you're into that ).

As long as the journey is comfortable and I can get a good view and a slice of historic structures on my journey any railroad will get my nod for best. I don't really mind delays at all either, as generally I'm not in a rush.

The "Best" commuter rail agency s the one serving your commute. The others, no matter how high you rate them, can't service you!

electricron wrote:The "Best" commuter rail agency s the one serving your commute. The others, no matter how high you rate them, can't service you!

I disagree. Most people who ride on SEPTA and see how its service levels pale in comparison to other railroads in the northeast would say that SEPTA's not the best rail agency.

electricron wrote:The "Best" commuter rail agency s the one serving your commute. The others, no matter how high you rate them, can't service you!

But what if you ride two different agencies to work!?!?

MNR hands-down the best! When LIRR, NJT or SEPTA give me a paycheck every week then I'll reconsider.

Well i recently took a trip to my family in Philadelphia using Septa and New Jersey Transit. And wow, I must say Septa even though it service patterns are no where close to New Jersey Transit or one of MTA's railroads. It is 95% on time and the ride in their fleet is amazing, Silverliner V and IV. But man NJT is my hometown railroad, so it has a special place in my heart.

Personally, I am going to go across the seas here...

I belive that the London Underground, or "The Tube", is one of the best in the world. Between that and Seoul, those round out the top few.

I will admit, they need to up their infrastructure quite a bit. But, they are in the middle of replacing large amounts of track, revamping stations, and ordering new trains from Bombardier (known as "S Stock" within the Underground.) On top of all this, they manage to move approximately 1.3 billion people per year along 11 seperate lines.

I am a native Chicagoan, and have visited London once. I did not ride The Tube there, so keep in mind that I am not saying this in the fact that I actually rode the line. Although, I have watched countless Tube videos & own the L.U. Sim (which is actually quite accurate).

-Hawks