By NJ State House News Service
Access to New York City jobs is crucial to New Jerseyans. Workers’ commutes, though, are expensive and often aggravation-filled. Democratic and Republican candidates running for their party’s nomination in the June gubernatorial primary say they have some solutions.
NJ Transit’s bus and rail service, haunted by budget cuts enacted by Republican Gov. Chris Christie, has shown improvement under Gov. Phil Murphy. Some fellow Democrats, though, say it needs a dedicated funding stream beyond a corporate surtax instituted by Murphy. And some Republicans say it’s time to privatize the nation’s largest statewide mass-transportation provider.
Congestion pricing – a per-vehicle fee to access Manhattan’s traffic-choked streets – also has divided the field of candidates, even as President Donald Trump’s administration has put it on hold. Some candidates say the extra charge is a positive for the environment. Others call it unfair to New Jerseyans and want it scrapped.
DEMOCRATS
“I’m the only one that said that congestion pricing is a good tool,” said Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop. He favors discussing the program’s future with its creator, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which pitched the charge as a way to raise $15 billion for its own mass transit needs.
“You need a regional transportation system and we would get them back to the table by implementing a reverse congestion pricing model,” said Fulop, referring to a potential charge for New Jersey-bound cars from New York. “If they do not come back to the table, those dollars need to be shared collectively.”
U.S. Rep. Mike Sherrill (D-11th Dist.) called the MTA initiative “a huge tax on New Jersey commuters to pay for New York infrastructure.”
“I would, as governor, keep fighting it in court,” she said. Sherrill said she also would work with New York Governor Kathy Hochul to “negotiate on a fairer solution.”
Steve Sweeney, the former state Senate president, calls NJ Transit “an embarrassment” and “an insult.” While in office in 2019, he appointed a legislative committee to investigate lateness, unreliability, safety, rider communication, and aging infrastructure.
He wants to boost NJ Transit’s proposed $3.2 billion operating budget, though he doesn’t name a funding source, and says it’s time to bring mass transit to South Jersey, the fastest-growing part of the state. If NJ Transit could stand on its own by 2028, he says, he would end the corporate surcharge. If not, he would make that funding constitutionally dedicated so it couldn’t be used for other budget needs, he says.
Sweeney called congestion pricing “very unfair” and said he would open talks with New York on the matter.
Sean Spiller, president of the New Jersey Education Association, said he would invest in clean-energy buses for NJ Transit and push the federal government for more money for rail infrastructure. He also suggested “a conversation” with New York on potential NJ Transit funding, as New York City employers benefit from that service.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said he wants negotiations among the MTA, Amtrak, and NJ Transit for “more reliable, safe, affordable rail” and “how to expand bus lines.” He said he would expand the pool of corporations that pay the 2.5% transportation fee by making it apply to those with taxable net income in excess of $1 million rather than the current $10 million.
Baraka isn’t a complete foe of congestion pricing, but says the approach needs work. He says he understands that New York City needs relief, but it can’t come at the expense of North Jersey residents who would suffer from pollution’s health effects as motorists head to the George Washington Bridge to skirt the charge, which would apply south of 60th Street.
U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-5th Dist.) didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment.
REPUBLICANS
State Sen. Jon Bramnick (R-21st Dist.) says he would repeal the 2.5% corporate surtax to fund NJ Transit and would work with the federal government to spend more on mass-transit infrastructure. On Instagram, he thanked Trump “for recognizing the economic harm” done to New Jerseyans by congestion pricing.
Amtrak, which owns the trouble-prone Northeast Corridor, the busiest passenger route in the nation, shares the tracks with NJ Transit. Bill Spadea, a former talk radio host, says he would ask the Trump administration for more money for Amtrak, to ease the weather- and power-related issues that tie up the trains of both operators. He’s also a longtime advocate of privatizing NJ Transit.
Spadea, who has praised Trump for delaying congestion pricing, says he would encourage New York-based companies to relocate to New Jersey.
Mario Kranjac, a former Englewood Cliffs mayor, points to NJ Transit’s damaged train windows, the result of polycarbonate material degradation. They’re a top complaint of commuters. Though NJ Transit plans to replace all 13,000 hazy windows by 2028, Kranjac riders never should have had to endure obstructed views.
Government, he said, has shown “year in and year out, that they’re incapable of running NJ Transit.” He calls for privatizing or starting a public-private partnership.
“In terms of congestion pricing, I think the best thing for everyone is New York just stop messing with that,” said Kranjac, without specifying how he would fight the charge.
New Jersey State House News Service didn’t receive responses for comment from Jack Ciattarelli, a former assemblyman and unsuccessful 2021 candidate for governor, and Justin Barbera, a contractor.
This story was reported and written by New Jersey State House News Service intern reporters Victoria Gladstone of The College of New Jersey and Paige Britt, Emma Ferschweiler, Madison Miller, and Abby Thomas, all of Rowan University.
