NJ Transit Strike Will Cause a Commuter Crisis

NJ Transit Strike Will Cause a Commuter Crisis

NJ Transit train unions have still failed to agree to a contract today, which means that New Jersey commuters should expect a transportation nightmare. Since the unions were unable to come to an agreement, a strike is expected to begin 12:00 AM on Sunday and displace more than 105,000 rail commuters. The state's contingency plan -- which will rely on increased bus service -- can only handle less than 40 percent of them. This nightmare will cause an increase of more than 10,000 cars per peak hour are on the road, leading to traffic backups of up to 23 miles at Hudson River crossings. After experiencing increased fares and cuts in service, public transit commuters will receive a final blow that may prevent them from getting to work during the strike next week. We are concerned that this will add more pollution to our environment and negatively impact our economy.

“The failure of the Christie Administration to negotiate a settlement has now caused this strike to happen. This will lead to a traffic nightmare and carmageddon for major parts of the state that commute by train or into New York . Instead of making sure negotiations are finalized to prevent this strike, our Governor is on vacation. This will cause more than 100,000 commuters to be displaced and significantly increase traffic. We should expect to see a huge gridlock on our highways, bridges, and tunnels. This strike will prevent people from getting to work and threaten our economy,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “Today was D-Day for NJ Transit rail unions and now this strike will impact the entire state. Monday we will be facing a commuter crisis. New Jerseyans should prepare for increased pollution and traffic jams until the strike ends.”

Last summer’s service cuts and fare hikes at NJ Transit were made to close a $60 million gap in the agency’s budget. However, NJ Transit train unions had been working without a contract for 5 years and were demanding better wages and health benefit contributions. The state agency has struggled to come up with additional funding because of Christie’s failure to fund the Transportation Trust Fund with a gas tax. Since 1988, the gas tax hasn’t been raised, but the fares for NJ Transit have been raised 9 times. This transit nightmare is yet another burden for commuters.

“If the unions eventually settle on a raise, where will the money even come from? The Christie Administration has failed to fund public transit and the Transportation Trust Fund is broke. That means there is no money for NJ Transit . While services have gone down on NJ Transit , there have been more delays and breakdowns. The Administration has failed to fund the TTF to fix our dilapidated bridges, roads, or public transit. Now this crisis will put even more people on our roads,” said Jeff Tittel. “ Instead of pitching a contract to the unions, Christie is watching the Mets pitch. Christie’s plan to handle this strike is entirely inadequate and will cause hours of delays. Instead of a traffic PLAN, it will be a traffic JAM. It only accounts for 40,000 people, which is 38 percent of commuters. This will put more cars and buses on the road and add to pollution.”

The Administration has consistently cut services and raised fares instead of implementing funding mechanisms such as raising the gas tax that will improve the economy and the environment. The Administration’s failure to fund public transportation has created this disaster and will cause future dissatisfied transit commuters. More than 10,000 cars per peak hour are expected on the road if there is a strike. This could lead to traffic backups of up to 23 miles at Hudson River crossings. It estimated a normal 65-mile commute from the Hamilton, N.J., rail center could take more than two hours each way if the strike occurs.

“After an ongoing attack by the Christie Administration on transit commuters, this is the final blow. While services have been cut, there have been hours of delays on NJ Transit, over-crowding as well as equipment failures. Dissatisfied transit riders cause more people to drive, adding to traffic, pollution, and sprawl. After the outrageous price hikes and service cuts, NJ Transit is pushing people away from mass transit. The Christie Administration has ruined one of the best transit systems in the county,” said Jeff Tittel. “The amount of pollution coming from all these additional cars and buses will hit New Jerseyans right in their lungs. This plan will put more cars and buses on the roads, causing up to four to five hours of delays and increase pollution. It will increase the amount of cars going into New York by 10,000 per hour and cause backups between 9 to 23 miles for bridges and tunnels.”

New Jersey has the worst smog in the nation from car and truck pollution. We should be promoting public transportation as a way to reduce our impact on climate change. The failure to have good and reliable public transit is bad for the environment because it will out more people in cars and increase pollution.

“This transit strike will be a train wreck for all of New Jersey. This strike will not only hurt commuters, but all of us. Christie has caused this traffic nightmare that will have long term impacts on the environment and the economy. We will see more people stuck in traffic longer, decreased job growth and productivity, while more pollution. It is outrageous that instead of considering a gas tax, the state has consistently turned to transit riders and employees to fix their deficits. Compared to motorists, transit commuters have felt an unfair burden of increased costs for far too long, while the gas tax has not been increased. Next week all commuters will feel the impact of Christie’s failed policies,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.

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Toni Granato Administrative Assistant New Jersey Sierra Club office:(609) 656-7612 https://www.facebook.com/NJSierraClub @NJSierraClub and @StopPilgrimNYNJ on Twitter