MTA chief hits New Jersey for proposed 15% fare hike, congestion pricing lawsuits

The head of the MTA, facing legal challenges from New Jersey that could delay congestion pricing, on Wednesday bashed the Garden State for looking to hike fares on its commuters while operating a transit system that is “falling apart.”

At a meeting of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board, chairman and CEO Janno Lieber noted that at the same time the agency is facing a pair of lawsuits from New Jersey political leaders challenging the legality of the MTA’s Central Business District Tolling Program, NJ Transit is proposing a 15% systemwide fare increase to help address a looming deficit caused by depressed ridership since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The MTA got out of a similar fiscal crisis last year with a 4% fare increase and a state bailout that included a payroll tax increase for New York City businesses.

“They haven’t solved their fiscal crisis, and their solution is to hit riders with 15% more fares,” Lieber said. “In the meantime, New Jersey Transit seems to, every couple days, have a complete shutdown, because they and Amtrak have a signaling and communication system that keeps falling apart.”

NJ Transit officials, in a statement, said Lieber "should be well aware" that Amtrak maintains the signal and communication system on which NJ Transit trains operate. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Weeks after the MTA received federal approval for its congestion pricing plan, which will charge most vehicles $15 for driving below 60th Street in Manhattan, the State of New Jersey filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of the project’s environmental review process. Similar lawsuits have followed, including from the mayor of Fort Lee, New Jersey, the Staten Island borough president, a New York City teachers’ union, and a group of Manhattan residents.

Lieber also pointed out that while recently outlining plans to raise tolls on the NJ Turnpike, “New Jersey doesn’t want us to be able to toll our own roads … Not nice.”

Lieber has said the lawsuits could delay the implementation of congestion pricing, and also delay several transit infrastructure projects that would get their funding from the new tolls. Despite the suits, Lieber said Wednesday that MTA officials “are still moving forward to put ourselves in a position to implement [congestion pricing] in the late spring.”

By Alfonso A. Castillo

alfonso.castillo@newsday.com@alfonsoreports

Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.