To the Editor:
Transit users should be extremely concerned and disappointed about Governor Christie’s ill advised and irresponsible decision to cut state subsidies to NJ Transit. Transit cuts will result in substantial fare increases to the riding public, imposing a surcharge or – for a lack of a better word – a “tax” increase on those who can least afford it: our children who commute to and from school, working families who commute to work, and our elderly who rely on public transportation to do errands, travel, and shop.
Governor Christie needs to know that public transit is not a for profit corporation, it was designed to provide a public service to the people of New Jersey!
Maybe the governor is unaware that NJ Transit operates without any dedicated funds like other transit agencies throughout the world! It is hard to sustain services without the proper funding mechanisms, and cutting the state subsidy will only further erode services at a time when we should be looking for ways of increasing public transit ridership. We know that public transportation helps our economy, reduces congestion on our roads, and lowers dangerous levels of global warming pollutants into our air.
We need to put people on public transit, not scare them away. Governor Christie should rethink this decision and find ways of making NJ Transit the best and most sensible way to go, not the most expensive and unreliable way! I urge you to call the governor’s office at 1-609-292-6000 and request that he reconsider his decision to raise fares and cut transit services.
RAY GREAVES