Public Transportation Options for the Working Poor Continues to be a Major Problem in South Jersey
An Op-Ed written by Mayor Frank W. Minor
Logan Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey
“HELP WANTED”
In 2019, I published an article attempting to create awareness of the discrepancy in the lack
of availability of public transportation to local employers versus the abundance of unfulfilled
skilled and unskilled job opportunities.
In summary, I wrote that Logan Township has seen tremendous growth and expansion in its
warehouse/industrial parks. With that growth we have seen job opportunities significantly
outpace employee applicants, thus creating hundreds of open job positions.
In 2018 and 2019, I met with over 50 of the Township’s largest commercial employers
and/or their human resource officers to understand the cause for unfulfilled job openings.
The overwhelming explanation I received was that potentially qualified applicants lacked
adequate transportation to get to the job.
In 2019, we estimated approximately 600 unfulfilled job openings in the combined
warehouse/industrial parks within Logan Township. Since then, Logan Township has seen
eight new warehouses and distribution centers open with five more are expected to open by
the end of 2025. We project that more than 4,500 jobs will be created but several hundred
may go unfulfilled because of inadequate or unavailable transportation. A further 10 more
commercial developers are actively navigating the land use process or permitting process for
an additional 8 million square feet and 7,500 more jobs in Logan Township with similar
transportation concerns.
While the South Jersey region, specifically, the I95/Rt. 295/Rt. 130/Rt.322 corridor has seen
an explosion in commercial development growth (and tax ratables) in the last two decades,
there appears to be no corresponding development or plans by the State and Counties to
specifically address the public transportation needs of those individuals seeking
employment.
Township of Logan
Based upon the above average unemployment rates detailed below, many in our region, most
specifically, Salem and Cumberland Counties, need employment opportunities.
- Gloucester – Unemployment: 4.2% (As of November 2023); Poverty: 7.6% (As of
2022) - Salem – Unemployment: 5.3% (As of November 2023); Poverty: 10.7% (As of 2022)
- Cumberland – Unemployment: 6.1% (As of November 2023); Poverty: 15.5% (As of
2022) - National – Unemployment: 3.7% (As of November 2023); Poverty: 11.5% (As of
2022)
These are people who want to work and support their families, but inadequate public
transportation prevents them from filling open job positions. We can change that. It is time
to expand public transportation services in South Jersey so that people who want to work can
actually get to available jobs. (Published in The Sentinel of Gloucester County Newspaper Printed Edition Week of 1/25/2024)