[youtube width=”500″ height=”300″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McHTfFXIVJc[/youtube]

During a meeting with the Star-Ledger‘s editorial board last month, Governor Christie offered up some blunt honesty while discussing his plan to raise NJ Transit fares by 25% and cut service across the state (at 0:41 in the video):

Editorial board member: What’s the difference between a gas tax hike and a fare hike, besides who it lands on?

Christie: That’s the difference.

But the honesty disappeared as the meeting continued. Governor Christie’s budget cuts must have come down hard on the gubernatorial fact-checking department, because his defense of his proposals included fuzzy math and incorrect information.

On Tolls

Christie: “We’ve increased tolls two times in the last four years.”

Reality: Tolls on NJ roadways have increased once in the past seven years. Here’s a list of the two most recent years in which tolls increased on each major tolled road or crossing in New Jersey:

• Garden State Parkway: 2008, 1989
• New Jersey Turnpike: 2008, 2003
• Atlantic City Expressway: 2008, 1998
• Port Authority of NY & NJ: 2008, 2001
• Delaware River Port Authority: 2008, 2000

NJ Transit fares were most recently increased in 2007, 2005, and 2002.

On Transportation Costs

Christie: “People who use New Jersey Transit have to pay for NJ Transit. They still pay much less than 50% of what it costs to run NJ Transit.”

Reality: NJ Transit fares cover 43% of the costs of operating the system, according to the agency. But the governor is displaying a double standard. His logic suggests that “people who use the roads have to pay for the roads,” but that is not the case. According to the Federal Highway Administration’s most recent Highway Statistics Series, governments in New Jersey spend $5.4 billion on road construction, operation, and highway patrol per year, but federal, state, and local revenue from road users amounts to $3 billion, about 56% of the cost. The FHWA data also counts borrowed money (for example, proceeds from bonds backed by tolls) as revenue, which means that what drivers actually pay at the pump and at toll plazas covers even less of the cost of roads.

On The Stimulus

Christie: “[Governor Corzine] used $160 million of stimulus money, all at one time, to forestall a fare increase because he wanted to be reelected.”

Reality: NJ Transit has not “flexed” any of its $422 million in federal stimulus money for operating expenses — and only spent $125 million of it by December 30, 2009, according to an agency spokesperson. Ninety percent of federal stimulus aid to transit agencies must go to capital projects, but 10% can be used for day-to-day operating expenses. That means NJ Transit has $42 million in stimulus money available for the restoration of service cuts or reducing the fare increase.

On History

There was one other fact the governor got right. When asked about his promise not to increase the gas tax, which has not been raised since 1988, Gov. Christie pointed out that “a whole bunch of governors decided not to raise the gas tax, so I guess I’m not alone.” The state’s Transportation Trust Fund is about to go bankrupt and leave New Jersey with no money for even basic transportation maintenance, because previous governors chose to borrow money instead of making fiscally responsible choices. Who would have thought the governor would be proud to follow in Gov. Corzine’s footsteps?

Notes: TSTC has mirrored the Star-Ledger video at YouTube. Michelle Ernst contributed to this article.