KEAN BLASTS NJ TRANSIT FARE HIKE;
SAYS STATE SHOULDN’T PENALIZE RESIDENTS
FOR ITS FAILED ECONOMIC POLICIES

Assemblyman Sean Kean blasted today’s decision by the New Jersey Transit Board of Directors to increase fares an average of 9.6 percent for bus, train and light rail riders saying that state residents shouldn’t be penalized for the agency’s failure to implement sound, economic policy which has left it with a $60 million shortfall in its Fiscal Year 2007 budget.

“This fare hike will have a profound adverse affect on scores of commuters, especially those who reside in Monmouth County, who daily ride our trains and buses to work in New York City,” said Kean. “Rail ridership in Monmouth County has increased by more than 5 percent since 2005, due, I’m sure, in large part to soaring gasoline prices. This, coupled with last year’s numerous tax hikes will add to the unbearable financial load our residents already bear.”

Earlier today, NJ Transit Executive Director Richard Sarles said the fare hike was necessary to close a $60 million deficit in the agency’s $1.587 billion dollar budget. It is the third fare increase needed to close a budget cap since 2000.

Kean, R-Monmouth, noted that Monmouth County, the sixth largest in the state, had experienced tremendous growth since the late 1990s because of its ideal location between New York City and Philadelphia. As a result, he said, many people relocated to the county because of its availability to public transportation to Manhattan.

“Many folks came here because it’s the ideal place to live,” said Kean. “They can enjoy the beautiful Jersey Shore and easily commute into New York City, but the unrelenting tax burden placed upon them for the past five years is now driving many out of the county, and out of the state. Another fare hike only adds salt to the wound.”

Kean added that the increase along with NJ Transit’s call for a long-term, stable source of funding is proof that the Corzine administration’s Transportation Trust Fund (TTF) refinance plan was just another Democrat band-aid fix.

Last year, the Democrat-controlled Legislature approved Governor Jon Corzine’s plan that increased annual spending on the TTF by $400 million per year up to $1.6 billion annually, but only provided about $100 million more in revenue. In addition to restructuring $1.8 billion in existing debt, the plan authorized additional borrowing with an extended 30-year repayment period.

“The quick fix. That is the Democrat’s fiscal policy,” said Kean. “And when the money runs out, they run to the taxpayer to once again pick their pockets. This new fare hike may very well be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. I fear it will further escalate the exodus from the Garden State.”

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