As this issue of the Railgram goes to press, a budget deal is in place to keep the government running. It includes the controversial—at least among businesses, though most will not be affected—corporate transit fee (an extension of the corporate business tax that ended in December 2023), though NJ Transit, the intended beneficiary, will not see funds
until Fiscal Year 2026. We presume that getting a bill passed still requires back-room deal-making—our political machines are strong—but we worry that it will be too little, too late.
At numerous NJ Transit board meetings, we have supported the call, led by Adam Reich, for “mask cars” on our trains—cars exclusively for those who have a need to continue masking in public places. As such, it was interesting for me to be a delegate at the Unitarian Universalists Association a few weeks ago, where a resolution “Centering Love amidst the Ongoing Impact of COVID-19” was passed, including the following clauses:
• Whereas, the current political climate increasingly fosters disregard and even hostility towards individuals still exercising COVID caution,
resulting in growing social and legal pressures to remove masks from public life and forcing higher-risk individuals to choose between essential
participation in public life or avoiding COVID-19 infections. . . .
• recommit to making our spaces accessible for our congregational/member organization participants and staff who are higher-risk, otherwise identify as COVID-cautious or were already experiencing isolation and exclusion. . . .
We call on NJ Transit, and all public agencies in our state, to look at their practices through a similar lens of inclusion of those with reason to be COVID-cautious.
A final thought, again in reflection of events in the wider world: In an example of the governmental interest in acquiescence rather than feedback or criticism that seems so prevalent, Kevin Corbett has reversed NJ Transit’s
position on the purview of SCDRTAC, NJ Transit’s Senior Citizen and Disabled Residents Transportation Advisory Committee. This is particularly disturbing because in 2023 SCDRTAC and NJT senior management had reached agreement that the Committee’s historic purview would be retained. That agreement has now been revoked. Senior and disabled residents need such a venue; the Accessibility Forum hosted periodically by NJ Transit could be one, but those have had very few attendees and are infrequent and irregularly scheduled compared to the almost-monthly open SCDRTAC meetings. SCDRTAC is the only semi-independent entity to which constituents can submit feedback, knowing that NJ Transit staff will hear from them directly. The committee members are vetted by both SCDRTAC and NJT management before being appointed, and each is either a senior or a person with a disability, or both. In addition, most of the members depend on NJT for all mobility, which is unique to any organization affiliated with NJ Transit. SCDRTAC is also the only open advisory committee—the North and South Jersey advisory committees hold closed meetings, releasing no information other than a monthly report at the NJ Transit board meetings. On a positive note, starting with its May meeting, video recordings of SCDRTAC meetings are being posted to the NJ Transit Local Programs’ Web page, https://s-rides.njtransit.com (one needs to scroll down to find the video recording).
