Richard R. Sarles, Sr. was named Executive Director of NJ TRANSIT -- the nation's third largest mass transit system -- on April 2, 2007.
Sarles served as NJT's Assistant Executive Director for Capital Programs and Planning from 2002 until 2007, managing the agency's $1.3 billion annual capital program as well as all three light rail operations in the state. A professional engineer, Sarles previously served for more than 20 years in construction, project management and project planning roles with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. He also served at Amtrak from 1996 until 2002 as a Vice President leading the NEC High-Speed Rail program, and subsequently leading capital program management for capital projects across the nation.
During his tenure with the Port Authority, Sarles led a successful effort to bring a major rail car manufacturer to the region to overhaul and manufacture new PATH cars, creating thousands of local jobs. He also oversaw the modernization of major trans-Hudson facilities, including vehicular tunnels, bridges and PATH. Later, Sarles directed the National Railroad Passenger Corporation's $2 billion high-speed rail project that brought 150-mph train service to the Northeast Corridor and electrified the railroad for the first time in history from New Haven, Conn. to Boston, Mass.
Since coming to NJ TRANSIT, Sarles opened River LINE light rail service in southern New Jersey, and oversaw the extension of both the Newark Light Rail and Hudson Bergen Light Rail services.
Sarles holds a Master in Business Administration from Rutgers University and a Bachelor of Engineering from The Cooper Union. He was born in Passaic and grew up in Nutley. The father of three children, Sarles also has four grandchildren, all of whom live in New Jersey.
The current emphasis on land use and transit oriented development (TOD) planning should more actively involve the public transportation operating agencies. The spotlight now being placed on the relationship between land use and public transportation requires a deep understanding of the capabilities of public transportation and what makes it attractive to existing and potential users. Devising land use and TOD strategies also requires those doing the planning to understand the market forces that contribute to increased public transportation use. It takes much more than simply promoting a denser development pattern to achieve an environment where public transportation can thrive and auto use can… Read more
I think most participants in this discussion would prefer a comprehensive authorization be enacted by September 30th. I am in complete agreement with Chairman Oberstar that the surface transportation system has suffered from consistent underinvestment that has prevented vital repair, let alone improvement. Moreover, the system is in dire need of reform and I commend the Chairman's efforts in that regard, particularly the proposed 90% increase in transit investment over SAFETEA-LU. The draft bill also considerably streamlines the funding programs and puts a real focus on intermodalism, a suggestion of many on this blog. My concern, however, relates to predictability. It is critical that State DOT's and transit… Read more
I would welcome additional funding coming from the Federal government to cover a portion of our transit operating costs. But it is imperative that first, the funds provided to cover operating costs be entirely new funds and not taken from existing, or proposed new sources of capital funding, second, these funds should not bring with them more layers of Federal oversight and process. Being able to obtain operating funds from the Federal government, especially for new initiatives and services that are in the national interest, such as those addressing environmental and energy concerns, would go a long way to insuring… Read more
I'd like to slightly amend Lisa's question, to read -- "should the next surface transportation bill allow states and municipalities to use a greater share of scarce Trust Fund dollars as they see fit?" And the answer, emphatically, is yes. I was delighted to see reports earlier this week that Chairman Oberstar's reauthorization proposal will maintain the trust fund but allow states to determine their spending priorities. The Chairman stated, "they've had these responsibilities. They've just been straight-jacketed, we're going to give the states broad discretion." New Jersey, for instance allocates nearly half of its capital funding (both State and Federal) to… Read more
Public transportation is addressed in Section 841, Greenhouse Gas Emission Reductions Through Transportation Efficiencies, of the Waxman-Markey bill. However, as we all know, the section does not specify sources of funds to achieve these reductions. Considering the impact the transportation sector has on greenhouse gas emissions, the transportation community needs to be active and organized in its support for auction revenues being directed back to the transportation sector -- specifically for the planning and construction of environmentally friendly transportation projects, including public transportation, rail and bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. I have concerns that a failure to secure a portion of the revenue produced from… Read more
The short answer is no. A simple example of how we have fallen short -- a debate exists today over whether highway and road signing should universally reflect multimodal choices that travelers can take. Steve Van Beek outlined what intermodalism entails -- moving people and goods in the most efficient manner regardless of mode. If implemented correctly, intermodalism, as the core of our surface transportation policy, could be the most significant catalyst for reducing greenhouse gas production and reducing congestion by moving people and goods more efficiently. The preamble to ISTEA (authored in large part by then Chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Bob Roe) impressed transportation professionals… Read more
The President has made a bold and I would say wise decision to encourage significant investment in passenger rail. I am not going to focus on the merits of rail or transit investment versus other modes per Mort Downey’s points. The more critical question, as Mort pointed out, is how the $13 billion is utilized with respect to corridor development. If the funding is allocated the right way, the President will have built a solid foundation for high-speed rail. Moreover, if the $13 billion in high-speed rail funding is coupled with bold and strategic investments in the rest of the… Read more
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) has rightly recognized the need to invest significant resources to rebuild the nation's infrastructure. ARRA includes over $17 billion in public transit and high-speed rail investment and $40 billion for road, bridge, port and water resource investment. It is critical that the President's FY10 budget maintain a similar level of effort to address the $21.6 billion (FTA estimate) needed annually to improve our public transit systems and the $190 billion (American Society of Civil Engineers estimate) needed annually to improve our nation's highways and bridges. FY10 also serves as what I hope will be the first year of the next surface transportation bill -- thus… Read more
Congressman Blumenauer points out that "public transit, carpooling, biking, walking, and living closer to work and school can reduce Americans’ need to drive thereby reducing carbon emissions...according to the American Public Transportation Association, public transportation reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 6.9 million metrics tons annually." I think it is important to add that the expansion of a multi-modal transportation system that Congressman Blumenauer is referring to should also be a critical component of our economic development goals. Transit investment promotes economic development around transit stations, stops and hubs to offer a way of achieving more development with less new vehicular… Read more
I want to build on what my colleague, Steve Hemminger, has said about pursuing a multi-modal federal transportation policy. In many countries, the national or Federal government defines what are the major transportation needs. This is especially true in Europe with the European Union playing this role, especially Directorate General VII which deals with transportation. If you look on the internet for the EU and look under either transportation or DG VII you will find documents that speak to the Pan European transportation needs. These are large scale initiatives in airports, high speed rail lines, ports, freight rail, etc. The EU also sets… Read more
I am concerned that the current proposal of $43 billion, more than $40 billion less than the Oberstar proposal, will leave shovel-ready projects on the shelf at a time when unemployment continues to rise (In New Jersey, Governor Corzine announced just yesterday that the State's unemployment rate has risen to 7.1%). More specifically, the current proposal reduces the New Starts appropriation from $2.5 billion to $1 billion, while transportation coalitions have identified more than $4 billion of New Starts projects ready to award contracts within 120 days. I understand some Congressional leaders are concerned about the spend-out timeline for infrastructure… Read more
Senators Lautenberg, Menendez, Clinton and Schumer wrote a letter to Congressional leaders on January 7, 2009, co-signed by 11 of their colleagues from the New Jersey and New York house delegations. In this letter, the Senators pointed out that the funding pot for transit capital projects (called "New Starts") is almost completely empty. As many of us are aware, New Starts is one of the few funding streams that requires a cost benefit analysis and a long, some say too long, multi-year review process. The Senators, along with their colleagues have asked that this pot, which funds the most… Read more
The most important question we should ask ourselves is whether transportation policy should rely on the unpredictable and uncontrollable nature of gas prices. Mr. Atkinson makes a very compelling point in his analysis of the European model -- specifically that paradigm shifting technological advances have not occurred in Europe, where $4 or more gasoline is commonplace. Moreover, as Mr. Heminger points out, a great deal of the revenue from increases in market-driven gas prices results in windfalls for foreign nations. In my opinion, the Obama Administration and State and Local governments should pursue more progressive transportation policies irrespective of gasoline… Read more
In the current climate, USDOT should see themselves as an enabler; not just a guardian of public money, but an agency that invests in transportation infrastructure to both stimulate the economy in the short-term and make the kinds of long-term investments that align with the President-elect’s long-term environmental and economic goals. With this in mind, there are a number of strategies I recommend Congressman Lahood consider for the future of USDOT: Maintaining USDOT oversight at a high level to assure that grantees have the structure and processes in place to effectively manage projects BUT pulling back some of… Read more
As I noted in my first post, it is critical that we find ways to expand public transportation across the country to meet the new ridership demands. Improving mobility and expanding multi-modal flexibility, while reducing congestion and greenhouse gas production will require more Americans shifting to public transportation, and any meaningful shift will necessitate significantly more funding for public transportation. National transit ridership stats released last week show year-over-year growth of more than six percent in the most recent quarter. Here at NJ TRANSIT, we have experienced five consecutive years of record-high ridership with nearly one million trips taken on… Read more
The President-elect has wisely decided that while infrastructure projects are a crucial part of stimulating the economy, it is just as important to target projects intelligently to ensure both short-term economic and long-term transportation benefits for the nation. Otherwise, money will be wasted on work that will fail to meet one or both goals. "Stimulus to nowhere" work won't serve citizens. The stimulus package must focus on infrastructure projects that meet common-sense criteria: the projects must be "shovel-ready," that is, have their environmental and other approvals essentially finsihed. Preliminary engineering also must be complete. These A+ projects also should… Read more
IMMEDIATE 1. Before reauthorization is in place, unlock the economic power of “ready to go projects” with local matching funds. Both the economic recovery package and the next surface transportation law should prioritize spending that will unlock the economic power of States and regions. As an example, New Jersey and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey have committed $5.7 billion toward a new passenger rail tunnel into Manhattan that is ready to go to construction in 2009. Once the federal funding commitment is secured, the project will create 6,000 new construction jobs annually for the next 10… Read more
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