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Newark — The ten New Jersey locals of the Amalgamated Transit Union, which represent the organized employees of NJTransit’s bus and Newark light rail operations, today endorsed Phil Murphy for governor, choosing him as the best candidate to reinvest in New Jersey’s mass transit network and restore the troubled agency to prominence.

The endorsement was announced by the ATU’s New Jersey State Joint Council, which includes 10 locals and workers across the entire state. ATU is New Jersey’s largest transportation union.

“Governor Christie has starved NJTransit for almost eight years and because of his lack of leadership mass transit riders have been forced to pay some of the highest fares in the nation while during the same period of time service and reliability have decreased and buses and trains are in desperate need of repair,” said Ray Greaves, chairman of the State Joint Council. “It’s time to elect a governor who recognizes we have a transportation crisis in our state and is willing to fix it. The ATU believes Phil Murphy is up to the challenge and that he will work hard to restore NJTransit’s reputation as one of the premier transit agencies in the country.”

Greaves praised Murphy’s recently released plan for fixing NJTransit, which includes a commitment to making long-ignored investments in infrastructure and operations.

“The men and women of the ATU know how good NJTransit can be with strong leadership that invests in them and in mass transit,” said Murphy. “What both commuters and employees are being forced to deal with every day is an embarrassment, but I know that by working together we can turn NJTransit around. I am grateful to the members of the ATU for their support and endorsement, and look forward to working with them to restore the pride at NJTransit.”