Trains and buses in New Jersey are failing to follow jobs and people to the historically rural counties that have seen the most population and employment growth, a transit advocacy group said.

The Tri-State Transportation Campaign report found that many of those areas lack convenient access to bus and rail service, which means more people driving to work. The report, released Wednesday and first reported by the Asbury Park Press, covers a 10-year period beginning in 1997.



"Some of the counties experiencing the fastest population and employment growth in the state, such as Somerset, Ocean and Warren, have the least transit service," the report said.

The group said the findings make the case that lawmakers need to find new revenue sources to support the state Transportation Trust Fund, which finances projects to expand transit service but could run out of cash in 2011.

Ocean County saw the largest population growth between 1997 and 2007, followed by Somerset and Gloucester counties, the report said.

Ocean County saw a 44 percent increase in vehicle miles traveled between 1999, when data collection began on vehicle miles, and 2007. The rates for other counties over the same period were 28 percent in Hunterdon, 22 percent in Monmouth, 20 percent in Somerset and 16 percent in Morris.

But the figures reflect traffic trends before gasoline prices rose to record levels and before the recession, and the report notes that people have cut down on driving over the last two years.

The report finds an increase in mass transit ridership over the 10-year period, although that form of travel, too, has leveled off. Ridership on NJ Transit trains was down 2.6 percent during the first quarter of 2009, agency spokesman Dan Stessel said today.

Stessel said the agency's capital program has focused on expanding reach and improving connectivity between rail lines. Park-and-ride lots have opened in Montclair, Mount Arlington, Ramsey and Wayne.

He said the agency expects the new Hudson River rail tunnel, scheduled for completion in 2017, to expand the number of trains that can travel to and from Manhattan and open doors for additional service in the future.

NJ Transit is getting $424 million from the federal stimulus program that will fund 15 projects to improve the commute for riders and expand service to new customers, Stessel said. The projects include a new parking lot in Edison and connecting the Atlantic City rail line with the River Line that serves Camden.

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Transportation study ranks N.J. last in road conditions