Atlantic City Feeling Effects of Sandy, Competition

Fewer people visited Atlantic City in 2013 by trains, planes and automobiles.

The South Jersey Transportation Authority says nearly 52.1 million toll-paying vehicles used the Atlantic City Expressway in 2013. That's a 2 percent decline from 2012.

Ridership on New Jersey Transit's line that links Atlantic City with Philadelphia was down nearly 5 percent last year.

Atlantic City International Airport handled 1.1 million passengers, an 18 percent drop from nearly 1.4 million passengers in 2012.

Analyst Israel Posner at Richard Stockton College of New Jersey tells The Press of Atlantic City the lower numbers reflect lingering effects from Superstorm Sandy and competition from casinos in neighboring states.

"The reality is that Hurricane Sandy had legs that lasted (through 2013) and it is still going on," Posner told the newspaper. "For individual homeowners and businesses up and down the coast, there's no doubt in my mind that 2013 has had lingering effects from Hurricane Sandy. It's hard to deny. You still see people rebuilding their homes."

Gambling revenue declined 6 percent in Atlantic City last year.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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