Good morning Chairman Benson and members of the Committee.
My name is Zoe Baldwin and I am the NJ Director for the Regional Plan Association, the nation’s oldest independent metropolitan research, planning and advocacy organization.
Thank you so much for the opportunity to speak in support of A1484, the bus riders bill of rights.
I’d like to start with a simple fact that I first said to this committee almost exactly one year and one week ago: the Venn Diagram of mobility and equity is a circle. In order to live, let alone thrive, people need reliable and affordable access to the places that meet their day-to-day needs such as work, school, the grocery store, the doctor’s office, and social activities.
Yet, despite the fact that we live in one of the most dense and prosperous states in the nation, for New Jerseyans who depend on bus transit, these basic trips can be difficult, overly time consuming, or in many places impossible.
A1484 would help address that by making the system safer and more reliable. Its provisions would give riders the peace of mind that the bus is going to show up on time and that fares will remain affordable. It would help our system become more ADA compliant, more user friendly, and more equitable.
However, I would be completely remiss if I didn’t point out that none of this will be possible without dedicated, recurring operating funds for NJ Transit.
A major reason that this bill is necessary is because for decades, this state has refused to properly support the agency, allowing the system to fall into a state of disrepair both physically and operationally despite all the inherent benefits it provides.
Administration after administration, legislature after legislature, we always find money for capital – which I support strongly, by the way, as many of you know I represented the infrastructure construction industry for five years – but we completely fail to acknowledge that the system needs funding to actually get that money into the project pipeline, let alone make sure the buses run on time. We ask ourselves year after year why the system is failing our communities but never flip that around and act to stop failing our system.
Capital is important, but prioritizing construction money for an agency that is understaffed, underpaid, and as a result, underperforming, is not good governance.
Farebox revenues this year are projected be about $400 million short, and I can all but guarantee the agency’s fiscal cliff is going to moved up to fiscal year 2025. If we wait until we are at the lip of that fiscal cliff, riders are going to lose, again.
If we stay in the current paradigm it will nullify all of the protections enumerated in this bill. Fare increases will be higher than necessary because the state refuses to do its part, leaving our Black and brown and underserved communities to shoulder the burden. And I want to be clear – the increases are coming, we’ve been flat for about 5 years – and service cuts will be on the table.
So, while I’m glad that we’re discussing measures like this, I would posit that it is up for “discussion only,” because we know we cannot afford to guarantee these protections.
Measures like this would be transformative for riders, but let’s be honest with ourselves here – it’s addressing symptoms, and without addressing the obvious and fundamental root cause of these issues, nothing is going to change.
