the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Just weeks since a potential strike was adverted and less than a year after NJ Transit closed a $56 million budget gap by raising passenger fares 9 percent, NJT now finds itself another $57 million in the hole. Slower ridership growth leading to lower-than-projected revenues leaves the agency 128 days to close the budget gap.
The biggest single hit “surprise “was a new contract for unionized bus workers, which cost the agency $46.6 million in additional salaries and benefits. NJ Transit also spent $18 million more than it expected on services by outside companies, including a program to overhaul the agency’s double-decker train cars, plus another $13 million on materials and supplies, to renovate facilities . Federal money partially offset some of these expenses , and NJ Transit expects more federal reimbursements to help off set budget gap.
