McKeon Statement on Proposed NJ Transit Spending

(TRENTON) – Assemblyman John McKeon (D-Essex/Morris), who has led the Assembly’s inquiry into NJ Transit’s continued woes, released the following statement on Wednesday:

“After working nearly 18 months with my co-chair, Senator Bob Gordon, investigating the rampant mismanagement and misallocation of precious resources at NJ Transit, I have been extremely heartened to see the great hires and recommendations being made and followed at NJ Transit.

“Now, with Governor Murphy’s budget calling for an additional 172 percent increase in funding for NJ Transit, the public would see the concrete steps this administration is taking to revitalize the agency. That’s keeping in mind that state funding for NJ Transit in Governor Christie’s last budget was less than half of the amount allocated for the state’s transportation system before the start of the Christie administration.

“Governor Murphy’s proposed investment means NJ Transit would be able to make the critical hires it needs to not only keep the system running, but make it run better. They would be able to more engineers and bus drivers, more skilled workers for track maintenance and Positive Train Control, and compliance and human resources experts. And as important, the governor’s commitment to NJ Transit is taking a fare hike off the table for the coming fiscal year.

“For the previous eight years, the Christie administration’s standard operating procedure was to starve NJ Transit and let it fester on its own. This administration is on track to turn that around, and with this investment, the Governor Murphy would do just that. I am proud of Governor Murphy for moving toward delivering on his promise to once again make NJ Transit a national leader in public transportation.”