Stuffing them in

ALL ABOARD FOR more mass transit misery.

New projections show the New York region’s population should reach 20.5 million people by 2020, further taxing the region’s already overcrowded and cashstrapped subway, bus and train systems.

The projections — calculated by the mapping service ESRI for The Associated Press — estimate the region is growing at a clip of almost 100,000 people annually. Long Island, Westchester County and much of northern New Jersey are included in the metro area.

The importance of these systems can’t be overstated: 31% of metro area commuters use transit to get to work, the U.S. Census estimates.

As the region’s population booms, the strains on mass-transit are increasingly evident.

Overcrowding was the single biggest cause of delays on the New York subway system during the last year, MTA stats show. Ridership has also grown on NJ Transit and the PATH trains.

“At peak times, it’s just crazy,” said Christine Toal, 48, who moved from the city to Yonkers last year — in part to escape riding the subway as much. “I absolutely hate it,” she said. Yet politicians display little appetite for funding transit, while fare hikes have riders digging deeper.

“We have let the infrastructure of this country deteriorate to a point that’s becoming quite dangerous,” said Jamie Fox, commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

“I believe that we’ve come to accept mediocrity when it comes to our transportation system.”

Those who set spending priorities are putting urban infrastructure in the fiscal back seat, according to Juliette Michaelson, the Regional Plan Association’s vice president for strategy.

That stands in contrast to international cities like Paris, where Michaelson notes “they’ve been building new subway lines for years.”

Transit officials fear the region’s growth could flatline unless the mass transit issues are addressed.

“If you’re not able to realize urgently needed improvements to the infrastructure, you’re not going to realize the growth,” Bill Wheeler, the MTA’s planning director, said.

Albany did not fill the $14 billion gap in the MTA’s capital budget, which pays for major projects like automating the subway and expanding the system.

New York City upped its annual MTA infrastructure payment by $25 million, to $125 million. That’s still far less than the $350 million the city paid in the early 1980s, when adjusting for inflation, the city’s Independent Budget Office found.

The situation is similar in Trenton, where NJ Transit officials are moving forward with planned cuts and a 9% average fare hike. The MTA is raising fares 4% every