| TRENTON, N.J. – News broke Monday morning that NJ Transit CEO Kevin Corbett will step down to pursue another career opportunity.
“This is a positive day for New Jersey commuters and taxpayers,” DePhillips said. “Kevin Corbett has been tone deaf to the daily hell that New Jersey Transit commuters have faced for years, and that is why I called for his resignation when he finally came before the Assembly Transportation Committee on Nov. 14.”
He has been a vocal critic of Corbett, the entire NJ Transit board and Gov. Phil Murphy, who for years have overseen the agency’s decline while ignoring calls for substantive overhauls in management and accountability. This past summer was among its worst, dubbed “the summer from hell” by commuters and media outlets alike, with 1,820 train cancellations between June 1 and Aug. 31 along its Northeast Corridor line alone, even as riders were hit with 15% fare hikes.
DePhillips, a member of the Assembly Transportation Committee, has repeatedly called for bicameral legislative hearings to demand answers, not excuses. He did secure a meeting with Franck Beaumin, the new customer advocate with NJ Transit, next week.
“It’s clear that throwing more money at the problems isn’t solving anything. It’s not a money issue, it’s a leadership issue,” DePhillips said. “Corbett should have been fired, especially following the disastrous summer season, to send a message that we mean business. But if he is truly leaving, then I expect a stronger, forward-thinking leader to be installed to turn this failing agency around.”
Corbett was chosen by Murphy in 2018 to lead NJ Transit. Specific details of Corbett’s plans were not immediately available; however, he shared with NJ Globe that his new role will allow him to “remain deeply connected to the transportation section, focusing on innovation, infrastructure and advocacy for public transit in our region.”
“He had seven years with NJ Transit and brought none of those things, so color me skeptical, to put it nicely,” DePhillips said.
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