Say No to NJ Mass Transit Rate Hikes. Keep the Garden State Green

The following email was forwarded to me from  Environment New Jersey:

“Earlier this week hundreds of New Jerseyans told Gov. Chris Christie to say no to historically high transit fare hikes.

Trains and buses are the greenest way to get around New Jersey — but not if we can’t afford the ticket. Gov. Christie’s proposed transit cuts will mean reduced train and bus service, and fare hikes that will sock it to commuters by an average of 25 percent starting in May.

Click here to oppose Gov. Chris Christie’s transit hikes.

What does that mean for the average commuter? If you’re one of the 10 percent of New Jersey residents who uses mass transit to get to work, you could wind up paying $1,000 more per year. And even if you just go into New York two times a year on the train with your family, you could pay up to nearly $100 more.

Suddenly, the roads are looking much more appealing. But for every transit commuter who decides to drive to work, it will add an average of 4,800 pounds of global warming pollution each year.

In 2008, New Jersey residents saved 137 million gallons of gas by riding public transit — reducing as much global warming pollution as if we’d taken 239,000 cars off the road. [1] We need to keep this progress going, not move backward to even greater dependence on gas-guzzling cars.

Click the link below to say no to Gov. Christie’s transit hikes!

http://www.environmentnewjersey.org/action/global-warming/stop-fare-hikes3?id4=ES”

New Jersey is in deep trouble with a huge deficit.  The Govenor is slashing right and left to balance the budget with the promise of no additional taxes.  The problem is these entities such as the transit department whose budgets get slash, turn around and just increase rates.    Although, the Governor may argue this is not an increase in taxes, personally, I think it is a matter of semantics.   It is still money coming out of our pockets.

Taking the environment into account, it is more important to encourage more people to ride the trains then to increase the cost.  I am just thinking out loud but shouldn’t the Governor say to each department run on a lean budget and leave the taxpayer out of the equation.  Am I just dreaming?

So, readers, how would you encourage people to ride the trains and increase revenues for the mass transit? What has your state done about public transportation?

Photo courtesy of Environment New Jersey

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