Commuters should not celebrate yet: Murphy's budget gives NJ Transit less than advertised

In his budget address Tuesday, Gov. Phil Murphy said the state's beleaguered mass transit system was getting a $242 million increase, to applause from state lawmakers and Cabinet officials.

However, the fine print shows a smaller number.

A less detailed budget summary made available Tuesday shows that on a year-over-year basis, Murphy proposes to increase the state subsidy from $141 million to $383 million.

Murphy told lawmakers Tuesday that his budget would "nearly triple" the investment in NJ Transit. But that number doesn't show that NJ Transit will receive less money from other sources.

Murphy needs to make up for a loss of more than $100 million in revenue from other sources, including $75 million in New Jersey Turnpike toll revenue that NJ Transit received last year, and more than $40 million in state and federal reimbursements.

That reduces the net increase to NJ Transit's budget to around $126 million, said Sen. Bob Gordon, D-Fair Lawn, the chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee.

"It’s really not $242 million in new money," Gordon said.

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Further, NJ Transit anticipates $28 million less in ticket revenue this year, partially due to declining ridership.

Factoring in the drop in ticket revenue leaves a $98 million increase, according to more detailed numbers provided by a legislative aide.

Testifying before lawmakers in January, NJ Transit's former executive director, Steven Santoro, said the agency needed an increase of roughly $80 million to avoid increasing fares. Murphy's budget gives the agency more than that and does not raise fares.

But the agency has suffered from years of underinvestment and has struggled to recruit qualified employees, from locomotive engineers and conductors to senior supervisors.

It also owes Amtrak more than $90 million for use of the Northeast Corridor for its operations into New York's Penn Station.

Still, Gordon and other officials praised the governor's investment.

"It’s a wonderful thing that more resources are going into NJ Transit," Gordon said.

"It’s certainly very motivating for the staff at NJ Transit," said Kevin Corbett, the agency's new executive director.

"We appreciate the governor’s trust in us, and we’re going to make it work for the commuters’ benefit," said Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti, the acting commissioner of the state Department of Transportation.

"We are sending a strong message to our commuters," Murphy said in his address. "A better day and better service is coming."

Gordon's committee approved legislation Monday to overhaul the governance structure of the agency, including its board of directors.

In January, Murphy ordered an audit of NJ Transit's finances, personnel practices and safety compliance. Gutierrez-Scaccetti said the audit should be finished before the summer.

"It will be helpful to get the results of the audit," Gordon said. "We don’t want to spend money inefficiently."