NJ Transit Ridgefield Park Bus Depot – Another Bad Plan in the Wrong Place

Ridgefield Park officials are in the process of trying to stop NJ Transit from acquiring a 56-acre property off Route 46 that could be turned into a bus depot. The depot would be for 500 diesel buses. The village had originally planned to build a town center, called “Skymark”, on the property that would have included stores, residential space, and a 10-acre wildlife sanctuary.

“NJ Transit once again is pushing forward with a bad plan in the wrong place. They want to build a 500-bus garage in Ridgefield Park for their fleet of dirty diesel buses. This is an area where the town wants to grow. They could build affordable housing here or do other things, but NJ Transit is trying to take over the area. Building a bus depot in Ridgefield Park will mean hundreds of buses driving through this area every day, increasing air pollution in an area that is already overburdened by pollution. NJ Transit needs to be building electric bus infrastructure instead of a depot for dirty buses,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “NJ Transit needs to be buying all-electric buses like every other transportation system in the country is doing. Instead, they are buying between 400-500 dirty diesel buses.”

Ridgefield Park expected that developing the town center would bring in an estimated $6.9 million in revenue. If NJ Transit acquires the property, the town could lose the tax revenue that the property generates because NJ Transit is a tax-exempt agency. This is estimated to be about $1.3 million every year.

“Not only is this the wrong project, but NJ Transit is taking away valuable land in Ridgefield Park. The town wants to use this area for development like rateables or affordable housing. Building a bus depot here means more air pollution in an area that still has “F” level air quality according to the ALA. What’s worse, they won’t get any tax revenue from the property because NJ Transit is tax-exempt. NJ Transit is taking away $1.3 million that Ridgefield Park stands to make every year from the taxes of this property,” said Tittel. “This is just another wrongheaded plan, like building their Meadowlands Power Plant. NJ Transit is heading down the wrong track when it comes to public health and the environment.”

Ridgefield Park is about 15 miles away from where the proposed NJ Transitgrid Traction Power System Project would be. The grid will be powered by a 104-140 MW natural gas-fired power generating plant in Kearny, New Jersey. NJ Transit is still moving forward with this project despite the fact that natural gas investments are becoming riskier and more expensive than renewable energy.

“It is outrageous that NJ Transit is still pushing their dirty power plant in the middle of the Meadowlands. This will be one of the biggest power plants in the state and will increase air pollution exponentially, which is concerning given that coronavirus risk has been linked to air pollution. This is a dirty deal for dirty power. They refuse to look at renewable alternatives like solar or hydropower from the river as backup,” said Tittel. “This is even more concerning because recent studies have found that natural gas is becoming riskier and more unstable while renewable energy is cheaper and more reliable. This power plant could end up closed in ten years or less, causing taxpayers to spend billions of dollars on it even though it won’t be generating any power.”

NJ Transit’s capital plan, which was released in June, does not look at buying electric buses until 2024. This is concerning because they need to be starting to buy electric buses now. The strategic plan, called NJT2030, contains 26 strategies for supporting growing ridership and changing environment.

“NJ Transit has a flat tire when it comes to electric buses. They aren’t looking at electric buses at all until 2024 even though they need to start now. Meanwhile, they’ll be buying hundreds of fossil fuel buses that will remain in the fleet for another 20 years. It will take time to upgrade the grid, fix the garages, and put in charging stations. They need to be starting now and accelerating their electric bus timeline to get us to 100% electric as fast as possible. What’s worse is that these buses will be driving through Environmental Justice communities that already have some of the worst air pollution in the nation,” said Tittel. “NJ Transit needs to move forward on electrifying our transportation to reduce costs and protect our lungs. Their capital plan doesn’t look at electrifying train lines like the Raritan Valley Line or the North Jersey Coast Line to Bay Head.”

NJ Transit has been hit hard during the coronavirus pandemic. As of April 30, they had lost 98% of ridership and $29 million in fare revenue. Revenue from fares usually make up around 43% of income toward NJ Transit’s operating budget.

“Government agencies are supposed to protect the public and promote renewable energy, but instead they are doing the opposite. You cannot have a resiliency project if you are building a fossil fuel power plant. NJ Transit is siding with the fossil fuel industry and making riders and commuters pay for a project that will hurt them. They’re going to be adding more pollution in these communities with a disproportionate amount of air pollution, whether by driving dirty buses through Ridgefield Park or a power plant in Kearny,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “NJ Transit’s plan to build a dirty bus depot in Ridgefield Park instead of focusing on clean technology is a one-two punch to our lungs and our wallets. They should be helping get cars off the road and making our air cleaner instead of creating more greenhouse gases. NJ Transit’s problems can’t be fixed with dirty fuel.”