Gas Tax Goes Up Today Because We’re Driving Less

Today, the gas tax in New Jersey increases by 9.3 cents. This brings the gas tax total in New Jersey to 50.7 cents. Diesel will also be taxed by 57.7 cents per gallon. This is because less gas was sold in New Jersey during the 12 months ending in June 2020.

“The pandemic is causing pain at the pump. People are driving less and the gas tax is going up. We’re losing less gas, which is good for air pollution but also means that people will be paying more. New Jersey is one of the most vulnerable states to climate impacts, so it is more important than ever for us to transition to a green economy. We need to improve our public transportation and expand electric vehicles in New Jersey for the good of the public as well as the environment,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “Instead of raising the gas tax, we could use some of the money from the toll increases on the Turnpike and Parkway to replenish the Transportation Trust Fund instead of funding highway widenings. Putting toll money toward the TTF for mass transit and Fix-It-First would mean that they wouldn’t have to raise the gas tax.”

Now that the gas tax has increased, New Jersey has the fourth highest in the United States. Before this increase, the state ranked 10th. Experts were originally forecasting the need for a one or two cent raise, but the new shutdown of the state due to the coronavirus pandemic necessitated a higher raise.

“This is the second time in less than a month where people are going to get hit. They already put in place the toll hikes on the Turnpike, Garden State Parkway, and Atlantic City Expressway. Now they are getting hit by the gas tax going up, and it will only continue to go up as people drive less and have cleaner cars. The money from the toll increases should be going toward Fix-it-First, mass transit, and electrifying our transportation system instead of paying for damaging highway widenings,” said Jeff Tittel. “New Jersey has some of the worst air pollution in the nation, and over 45% of the emissions come from trucks and cars. Reducing our emissions is especially important because recent studies have linked coronavirus risk to air pollution exposure. A third of the children in New Jersey’s major cities suffer from asthma, and 100 kids in New Jersey are killed each year by asthma attacks caused by vehicle emissions.”

New Jersey has the worst smog and air pollution in the nation from car and truck pollution. Public transportation can help us get cars off the road and reduce air pollution and greenhouse gasses.

“We are in a climate crisis, and reducing our use of fossil fuels is the first step to fighting climate change. Over half of our greenhouse gases come from mobile sources. New Jersey has made some progress by creating EV targets of 330,000 by 2025 and 2 million by 2035. We also joined a multi-state agreement to reduce diesel pollution and work toward 100% zero-emission trucks. Now we need to establish the right-to-charge and create a network of charging stations. This will help us reduce our air pollution and our dependence on fossil fuels like gasoline,” said Tittel. “CA Governor Newsom just signed an executive order that requires new cars sold in the state to be electric or zero emissions. New Jersey’s electric vehicle program is only minimal. We need to make it larger and follow California’s lead. We need to remove the roadblocks now and step on the gas.

The Murphy Administration needs to invest in saving NJ Transit from the mess it has become to get more people and cars off the road. Not only must we fund the Transportation Trust Fund, but we must be sure we are doing everything possible to secure federal funding.

“We need to move forward with clean vehicles because the gas tax will only continue to rise. The people have shown that we want cleaner fuels and a greener economy. Now we need to put the pressure on our elected officials to make it happen. We must make sure that New Jersey meets our clean energy goals of 100% renewable and zero-carbon by 2050. This means not giving subsidies to nuclear power or limiting the amount of solar and wind energy we can create in our state,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “We must do more to reduce our state’s carbon output and fossil fuel consumption. New Jersey has the worst smog in the nation and we should be promoting public transportation as a way to reduce our impact on climate change. The failure to have good and reliable public transit is bad for the environment because it will put more people in cars and increase pollution.”