Traffic down, rail ridership up in southern N.J.

There’s more room on bridges crossing from southern New Jersey into Pennsylvania these days, but you might have a harder time getting a seat on the train.

The Delaware River Port Authority says vehicle traffic fell to an 11-year low last year on the four toll bridges it operates in South Jersey. Ridership on PATCO trains reached an 11-year high.

The authority runs the Ben Franklin, Walt Whitman, Betsy Ross and Commodore Barry bridges.

 

Bridge traffic rose steadily since 2000 until tolls were increased in 2008 and last year.

PATCO raised fares last year but still carried 10.5 million passengers into and out of Philadelphia. That’s the most since 2000.

Vehicle traffic on the four bridges has dropped from 55 million in 2007 to about 49 million last year.