As time ticks down to a serious transportation finance crisis in New Jersey, NJ Transit’s website has sprouted a new feature – a dollar ticker that shows the agency’s calculation of how much transportation aid New Jersey has lost because Congress and President Bush have failed to enact new transportation funding legislation.  The last federal transportation bill ("TEA-21") expired in 2003 and has been renewed on an ad hoc basis several times since, but transportation agencies say funding levels authorized in 1998 aren’t keeping up with costs and inflation. "Had Congress passed a new bill (Senate Bill 1072), New Jersey would have received approximately $752,000 more in federal funds each day since October 1, 2003. Every second that Congress fails to pass a new version of TEA-21 costs New Jersey taxpayers federal funds," Transit’s web site says.  The total was in excess of $390 million as of Tuesday afternoon.

President Bush’s draft 2006 budget appears to attempt to re-start the transportation authorization process, increasing its 6-year spending level to $284 billion from an earlier $256 billion proposal.  But predictions that a final deal was in the works have been wrong for the last year and a half.   www.njtransit.com 

MTR back issues:

Go to index of all Mobilizing the Region back issues.