Senate Transportation Committee to Hold Commuter Hearing Wednesday on Gordon-Weinberg NJ Transit Reform Bill

Evening hearing scheduled in Hackensack on legislation to add commuter board members and require hearings on fare hikes and major schedule changes

TRENTON –Commuters are invited to a special Senate Transportation Committee hearing Wednesday evening in Hackensack on legislation to improve the governance and oversight of New Jersey Transit,

The measure, S-630, is sponsored by Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Bob Gordon and Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg. It is the result of a thirteen-month legislative investigation into financial and management shortcomings at the agency.

The hearing will be held in the Freeholder Public Meeting Room, 1 Bergen County Plaza, Hackensack, N.J., from 6 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, March 28. A second hearing will be held in Maplewood on April 11, also from 6 to 9 p.m.

“As a result of our joint investigation, the Senate Legislative Oversight and Assembly Judiciary Committees were able to identify numerous structural and organizational problems at New Jersey Transit,” said Senator Gordon (D-Bergen/Passaic). “This bill enacts common sense reforms to correct those deficiencies and provides for much needed legislative oversight and transparency of an agency that receives a substantial annual subsidy from the State. We expect this bill to complement Governor Murphy’s ongoing audit of NJ Transit.”

“Our reform bill responds directly to the concerns of NJ Transit bus, rail and light rail commuters who felt that the nation’s largest commuter agency had stopped listening to them and stopped caring about their needs,” said Senator Weinberg (D-Bergen). “This legislation will make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

The Gordon-Weinberg bill (S630) would set strict requirements for public hearings on any fare hikes or major schedule changes.

The bill also would implement a number of reforms to the governance structure of New Jersey Transit, starting with the membership and responsibilities of the NJ Transit Board of Directors. The bill would:

• Increase the size and diversity of the NJ Transit Board by including two commuter representatives, two members recommended by regional planning organizations and two transportation labor union representatives.
• Ensure that commuters  have greater access to Board meetings by requiring that half of the meetings be held in the evening;
• Require all board members to have experience in transportation or related fields; and
• Mandate that Board members act as fiduciaries with the best interests of the corporation and the riding public in mind, and disclose certain political contributions made and gifts received, seeking to minimize external political influence.

In an effort to provide greater opportunities for commuters to have input, the bill also formalizes new geographically based NJ Transit Board advisory committees, which the Board would be required to consult before adopting any proposed fare increase or significant curtailment or expansion of service.