NJT Crusier bus front at Old Bridge Pn R.JPG

Commuters board an NJ Transit bus at the Old Bridge Park and Ride on Route 9. Democratic state lawmakers did not include funding in their amended state budget which could have averted a fare hike. (Larry Higgs | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

It's all over except for the vote next month on a proposed NJ Transit fare increase.



Democrats rolled out their version of a state budget Tuesday, without additional funding for NJ Transit which could have prevented a proposed 9 percent fare hike.



The Democratic budget was approved by the state Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee and the Assembly Budget Committee on Tuesday. While it boasted "fully funding pension payments, and investing in higher education, healthcare, social services, schools and cities," restoring funding to NJ Transit didn't make the cut.



"No discussion of that today," said Tom Hester Jr., an Assembly Democratic Majority spokesman, when asked if NJ Transit was part of the discussion.



The budget bill can't be amended at this point in the process, he said. Those bills go to the full senate and assembly for a vote on Wednesday.



That won't sit well with advocates from eight organizations who are part of the larger New Jersey for Transit group, which plans to rally on the statehouse steps Wednesday to urge lawmakers to add money to the budget for NJ Transit to close the funding gap.



"It's disappointing," said Michael Phelan, co-founder of the New Jersey Commuter Action Network, which is participating. "Neither party has come out and said "let's plug that hole," it didn't surprise me."





The point of the rally is to call attention to the fact that lawmakers could have addressed the fare hike through the budget, but chose not to, said Jon Whiten, New Jersey Policy Perspective Deputy Director.

"Next year's spending plan will lose over $1 billion to business tax cuts and corporate tax subsidies that do very little to grow the economy," he said. "At the same time families across New Jersey will have to deal with another fare hike, and New Jersey's public transit system will continue to suffer from disinvestment. That's no way to build a budget or a strong state economy."



During nine public hearings about a proposed 9 percent fare increase and service reductions, several Democratic lawmakers testified against increasing fares, including State Senators Loretta Weinberg and Robert Gordon, D-Bergen. Assemblyman John Wisniewski, D-Middlesex, who's also chairman of the transportation committee, also spoke at an NJ Transit board meeting to oppose the fare hike.



"The Democrats have additional funding for other programs, but not one additional penny to help commuters. The Democrats complain with what the Christie Administration does, but they end up going along with it," said Jeff Tittel, New Jersey Sierra Club director, in a statement. "These cuts and fare hikes are unfair to commuters and now it looks like it will happen, thanks to the legislature."

Weinberg and Gordon were the only lawmakers who offered specific ideas about where to find money for NJ Transit by to reduce subsidies and tax breaks for businesses that move within the state.



Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook.