Author: Sally Jane Gellert
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This has been a busy month for the Coalition; Budget hearings were held in April by both chambers of the New Jersey Legislature, and we await the final legislative budget at the end of June. Regarding NJ Transit, we areparticularly concerned about the proposed 30-day expiration for single ride tickets, paper or digital, as we…
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At our March and April meetings, Coalition members discussed the proposed fare increase and condition changes approved by the NJ Transit Board of Trustees. We have mixed feelings about the 15%increase—we know how much the agency needs revenue, recognize that it is about half of the 31% that inflation has increased during this time, yet…
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This month we welcome Gregory Woods and Joseph Tassiello from NJ Transit’s light-rail division. In April, we have a milestone anniversary—the Lackawanna Coalition celebrates 45 years of advocacy! Then in May, AlanDrake joins us in person, all the way from New Orleans, to discuss rail from an international perspective. June brings us Lackawanna Coalition Treasurer…
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This has been a busy month for the Coalition; plans for congestion pricing in New York City’s “Central Business District” raised questions about equitable funding, limiting air pollution and clogged streets, and the potential for simply transferring the traffic and parking demand to new areas (the basis for Bergen County’s suit); Dave Alan discusses the…
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As this issue went to press, we were just days away from the first hearing on NJ Transit’s announced plan for a 15% fare increase in July and a 3% annual increase thereafter. Much of our February meeting was devoted to the topic, and we were prepared to speak at some of the hearings. We…
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Welcome to a new year with the Lackawanna Coalition! We have an anniversary coming up this April—well, we do every year, but the 5s and 0s seem to get the most attention. We’ll turn 45 this April and will have a celebration at our meeting on the 15th of that month. We are also considering…
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Last month, we postponed our 2nd-Tuesday executive committee conference call to pay a visit to the Lyndhurst town commissioners at their monthly meeting. Some months ago, when the board discussed plans for the new Lyndhurst Station, we had noted in their “wish list” capital plan the proposed closing of Kingsland Station. We were disturbed—the location…
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October started with a morning in Hoboken, enjoying the good weather and historic trains, in celebration of NJ Transit Rail’s 40th anniversary year. We arrived as NJ Transit staff was setting out information tables and tote bags, and enjoyed photographing the equipment, reading the URHS information boards, and boarding 2 of the historic cars. The…
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Commentary The vote is in (as of August 31), and it is overwhelmingly favorable to a strike: the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) union voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike (of 494 eligible members, 399 returned ballots; 397 of these voted for strike authorization, and two ballots were ruled void, as reported by…
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Commentary We congratulate NJ Transit on winning its most recent award, for 2023 Outstanding Public Transportation System, from APTA. As the third largest transit agency in the country, and the only one running statewide transit (though density varies), NJ Transit is in limited company, yet that company includes large, prominent agencies, so it is quite…
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