PACKET EDITORIAL, April 6
If there is anything the Route 1 corridor does not need it is more rush-hour vehicles, each carrying only its driver. That is why anyone with the unfortunate daily chore of driving one of those vehicles should be cheered by news that Plainsboro’s TrainLink shuttle link has been saved.
The shuttle service, which transports some 125 riders between the Forrestal Center and the Princeton Junction railroad station, has been operating since 1990, with the center covering 40 percent of the operating costs. In February, the Greater Mercer Transportation Management Association announced that it might be forced to terminate the service by May 1 for lack of funding. The Forrestal Center, perhaps discouraged by the dearth of financial support for the shuttle from its business tenants, was planning to withdraw its share.
Whether Forrestal was serious or merely trying to shock the business community into doing the right thing, the prospect of the shuttle’s extinction proved to be a very effective call to action. On Monday, the Greater Mercer TMA announced that the shuttle service will live on and perhaps even expand, thanks to new funding from Merrill Lynch, Munich Re America and NEC Labs America and continued funding from the Forrestal Center.
All four entities are to be commended for stepping up to the plate. The employers, in particular, will be rewarded by the undistracted performance of their workers who rely on the shuttle.
There may be an even larger economic payoff to this second life for TrainLink. According to TMA Executive Director Sandra Brillhart, the funding crisis drew new attention to the importance of such transportation services to "the region’s accessibility and economic developmental potential." As a consequence, more potential sponsors have contacted the TMA, raising the possibility of adding a midday shuttle run, new vehicles and additional stops.
We would encourage these and other prospective corporate sponsors to follow through and get on board. The TMA’s number is (609) 452-1491 and Ms. Brillhart and her colleagues will no doubt be happy to hear the phone ring.
Drinking death in a frat house
It may turn out that the tragic death of Rider University freshman Gary DeVercelly on March 30 was not the result of "hazing" as that term is defined by college regulation or law.
It may well turn out that no criminal charges are warranted in the death of this 18-year-old student who was pledging a fraternity.
That will not restore him to his grieving parents. Nor will it negate the official finding that a young man consumed enough alcohol to end his life during a single evening inside the fraternity house he hoped would become his campus home.
Rider University is entirely correct to mount a study of alcohol abuse among its students. We hope that it will include more than a cursory look at the role of fraternities and sororities.