NJ Transit’s new Executive Director Ronnie Hakim has gotten off on the right foot by protecting bus and train riders from service cuts and fare hikes. In response to a Tri-State inquiry concerning the proposed $15 million cut to NJ Transit’s operating budget included in Governor Christie’s budget, Executive Director Hakim assured advocates that there will be “no service cuts or fare increases.”
The proposed cut is part of a deficit mitigation plan introduced by Governor Christie to counter a $807 million budget shortfall for the coming year. While the $14.8 million cut represents less than one percent of the overall NJ Transit operating budget, the agency already operates on a shoestring budget which was strained even further two years ago when 11 bus routes were either terminated or cut in an effort to save $3 million. NJ Transit’s operating budget also requires hefty annual capital budget transfers. Over the past three annual budgets, $1.16 billion was taken from the agency’s capital fund to meet the agency’s operating needs. Incidentally, $1.16 billion is enough to fund the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail extension, replace the Portal Bridge or make a serious dent in the cost to build the Camden-Glassboro Light Rail project.
At a time when good news for the nearly 900,000 daily NJ Transit riders is hard to come by, this commitment from its new executive director is sure to be welcomed. But if NJ Transit riders are to be protected over the long term, New Jersey’s elected officials must find the stable revenue sources to address the Transportation Trust Fund crisis and prevent future fare hikes and service cuts.
Trouble is[tm], pitbull rightwinger groups led by Americans for Prosperity are fighting efforts by the equally-fierce party establishmentarians to raise the still-lowest-in-the-nation petrol tax, which would be the chief fuel to a TTF solution.
From the NJT 2015 budget as found on the NJT website under the Administration Committee Agenda for tomorrow’s (June 19) meeting:
The cut in appropriations from the state ($14.8 million) is being made up primarily by a transfer of $12.9 million from the State Clean Energy Fund. (Is this an intended use of Clean Energy Fund money?) The budget also assumes a 1% increase in rider revenue, despite rider revenue so fat this fiscal year being down 1.4% though much of the decrease may have been from the rough winter).
Thus, the budget depends in part on an increase in ridership and rider revenue; but there will be little money for increased service to accommodate that increased ridership.
This is mere political jibberish by saying what the audience wants to hear and muddying it up with outlines of possible ways to meet the budget gap. Everybody will pull back, smile at each other and nod, then look at Hakim and nod and smile. Next all will stand up and leave the room feeling they got the best of the other. Come next week or next month or later in the summer or come fall, when something’s not right, lies and accusations and “interpretations” will fly and fingers will stab the air. Yeah, this is a great budget: for buying votes for the November elections but not for operating a transportation service with integrity or safety.
Good point Dale. Even super conservative Idaho is talking of raising their state gas tax.