Good evening,
My name is Tim Nikonorov, and I’m a summer fellow at the Tri-State Transportation Campaign. TSTC is a nonprofit group that advocates for sustainable transit and equitable urban planning practices in the New York metropolitan area. I’m here today in front of the board to discuss my support for the corporate transit fee and my opposition to the fare hikes. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to speak.
I want to start by congratulating the New Jersey government for approving the corporate transit fee in their budget to help fund NJ Transit. This fee, which will generate $917.8 million in its first year and target the largest corporations operating in New Jersey, is crucial for ensuring the survival of a system that thousands rely on for their commutes and other essential trips. New funding sources mean maintaining and repairing the vital infrastructure that will help deal with the delays that have frustrated far too many riders. This past month has shown that riders don’t deserve to pay more with all of the delays and cancellations they must deal with on a daily basis.
In light of the fee’s successful passing, I am urging the board to reconsider the fare hikes that went into effect this month. These fare increases have placed a barrier to accessing NJ Transit for the working people of this state. Last month, I was at a rally in front of Newark Penn Station to support the corporate transit fee. One of the most moving testimonies I heard was from a working-class immigrant named Umberto Mendoza. He told us that because of the fare hikes, he could not afford to ride the 780 from Passaic to his job in Hackensack. It does not seem fair to me that the burden for NJ Transit’s failings should fall on people like Umberto. These fare hikes are not only a morally unfair decision in a time of a cost-of-living crisis but also a detriment to the growth of New Jersey. To paraphrase Zoe Baldwin of the Regional Plan Association at that rally in Newark, New Jersey “won’t be able to cope with population growth if we have to drive a car or if the transit system isn’t reliable.” While the corporate tax will help solve the issue of reliability for New Jersey Transit, higher fares may encourage the inefficient lifestyle of car travel.
The fiscal shortfall has thankfully been averted with the corporate transit fee. We do not need to burden the working classes who hold up NJ Transit and the rest of the state with these fare hikes. I strongly ask the board to do right by the thousands that rely on them and roll back the unnecessary fare hikes that have worsened the commutes of NJ Transit riders. Thank you for your time.
