Candidates for governor say how they would revamp NJ Transit

Yahoo

5 days ago

The candidates running to be our next governor say they would dedicate more funding to NJ Transit, monetize the agency's assets, and push Amtrak to improve infrastructure. (Photo by Edwin J. Torres/N.J. Governor's Office)
The candidates running to become our next governor are making big promises to reform NJ Transit.
The six Democrats seeking their party's nomination for governor on June 10 and the three Republican front-runners agree that the embattled public transit agency is broken, but they differ on what they'd do to address spotty service and funding problems.
Eight years ago, Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, began his first term pledging to fix NJ Transit even 'if it kills me.' Since then, he has touted new, modern train cars and buses and a dedicated funding source via a new tax hike on businesses, but major delays, rising fares and a recent, four-day strike by train engineers have caused headaches for commuters.
Most candidates hoping to succeed Murphy said their top priority for NJ Transit is finding a financial fix. Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, a Democrat, criticized the new funding source — called the corporate transit fee — saying the 'system and current structure from Phil Murphy's not working.' Fulop said he would make that fee permanent.
'They only implemented it for five years, and you can't capitalize or bond on five-year revenue, so you need to change that into perpetuity. It's got to be in perpetuity,' said Fulop.
Former state Sen. Steve Sweeney, a Democrat, said he would also make the fee permanent and would constitutionally dedicate the revenue from it to NJ Transit (the agency is expected to receive about $800 million from the fee in the next fiscal year). If that doesn't happen, Sweeney said, lawmakers can take some of the revenue to plug holes in the state's budget.
'That would be first and foremost because … you will see that money gone in three years if it's not dedicated, and New Jersey Transit needs funding,' he said.
Sean Spiller, a Democrat and president of the statewide teachers union, said he also would stop transit funding from getting pulled into the state's budget and repurposed for other projects. That would be key to funding improvements that make service better, he said.
'We've got to dedicate those dollars and use them to make the step-by-step improvements that we can map out then when we have that plan, and own that and live by that plan and keep people updated,' he said.
Republican state Sen. Jon Bramnick said he would turn to the federal government for funding help.
'We actually have infrastructure problems, and the major reform is you've got to get federal money on infrastructure. Otherwise, you're going to continue to have serious problems. That's the reform,' he said.
Candidates on both sides of the aisle hammered Amtrak for failing to maintain the tracks along the northeast corridor that are used by NJ Transit. Sagging catenary cables and aging signals on Amtrak's lines are often assigned blame for NJ Transit's delays, especially last summer.
NJ Transit gives Amtrak $200 million annually to rent the tracks, money Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a Democrat, said he would stop paying until the infrastructure problems are fixed. Gottheimer also said he would 'immediately replace' NJ Transit's aging trains and buses.
'The broader point is to keep people safe … that's why we need to fix these things,' Gottheimer said.
Rep. Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat, said she would 'hold Amtrak accountable' for infrastructure upkeep but said her chief priority would be to spur more housing construction around transit stations.
'The long-term fix I would apply is transit-oriented development, which we're doing to some extent, but really use that as a long-term funding mechanism so that we have a dedicated source of revenue for New Jersey Transit,' Sherrill said.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, a Democrat, said NJ Transit is too focused on the commuters who travel between New Jersey and New York and Philadelphia. Baraka said he would require the agency to pay more attention to New Jerseyans who use its trains and buses to get around the Garden State.
'I think that's important for us to do. Whether it's the light rail in Hudson/Bergen or buses in Glassboro/Camden or from Atlantic City to Newark, we begin to focus on moving people up and down and around the state of New Jersey, and using some of the capital dollars that we have to do that, as opposed to widening these roads,' he said.
Jack Ciattarelli, the Republican nominee for governor in 2021, said he would make NJ Transit part of a new Garden State Transportation Authority along with the Atlantic City Expressway, the Parkway, and the Turnpike, to bring the agency under more state control.
'It'd be better for accountability and transparency and a better management structure,' Ciattarelli said.
Bill Spadea, a Republican radio talk show host, said he'd monetize NJ Transit's assets by giving the properties they own 'back to the town' to be used as rateables. Spadea also said he'd 'close the system' by requiring riders to show their tickets before boarding trains.
'That should be processed like they do at the MTA and others, where you can't get on the platform until you show your ticket. That's going to cut down on millions of dollars in lost revenue,' Spadea said.
Nikita Biryukov and Dana DiFilippo contributed.
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