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MTNJAskKKBBlock0609

Welcome back to As Chris Kalori. I'm here with Chris Kalori, NJ Transit CEO and president, of course, head of the Turnpike Authority as well. Chris, it's, uh, again, it's good to see you here. Um, question that we've been getting, uh, from viewers has been asked over and over again. This is there this 3% fare increase that's still taking place at the beginning of July? So in 2024, a year before I got here. Uh, the transit board went through a, a rigorous 10, uh, public hearing process, and they voted for a year over a year, uh, increase of 30%. I wanna just set a little context for that, Eric. Uh, we've been around for 47 years, uh, New Jersey Transit, for 30 out of that 47 years there's never been a consistent fair policy when. Customers and our and our riders are frustrated with the level of service and the kind of equipment we have that is one of the reasons why we don't have the kind of reliable service our public expects. My commitment and the governor's commitment is to make sure we have a steady progress towards the kind of reliability that the customers have asked for in order to do that you have to. A predictable funding source. So how many years is this increase slated for until the board decides otherwise? OK, so it's an annual increase until further notice. Same thing with the turnpike. OK. All right, we have a caller right now. This is Adam from Metuchen calling in. I just want to let everybody know that you can call and ask your questions as well. 888-Ns 12NJ. That's 888-639-7126. Hey Adam, thanks for calling in. What's your question? You implement the fare increases every July 1st. The 2018 New Jersey Transit Reform law requires those 10 fair hearings before each fare increase is implemented. Why should riders accept. Fare increases automatically in perpetuity despite the statute requiring it. What would it take to get New Jersey Transit leadership to actually speak openly about the idea of holding regular hearings on it? That's not to say we don't have the fare increases, but that riders be given the opportunity the statute contemplates to be heard before each and every fare increase. Uh, so, Adam, uh, uh, I just want to be clear, I don't think you are speaking on behalf of the New Jersey Civil Service Commission for which you work for. I just want to be clear because that's a state organization and Adam is very good about, uh, saying that, uh. These are his views and not the views of the new state of New Jersey. I just want to be clear about that. But having said that, as I said before, Eric, I think uh this happened a year before I got here. Uh, the board of New Jersey Transit takes its obligation very seriously, uh, when, when implementing these kinds of fare increases, and what I can tell you is that they have conformed to the statute. And they did the public hearings as uh required by the statute and that's what we're following uh and uh again it is up to the board if should we ever uh should the board ever decide to go the other way they will uh but uh we believe that uh under the uh under the statute we followed the govern the the uh the mandates uh and that's why, uh, there's a. There's another fare increase this year in the interest of improvements in service later this month we will hit the 90 day mark now since the governor's executive order for this rapid action plan. It was a 45 day action plan, but now we're looking at 9, 90 days to enhance the customer experience. What concrete, noticeable, tangible steps can riders on? Already feel and notice right now and what is still yet to come in the near future. A couple of very important things, uh, let me give you some breaking news. Uh, just today, uh, we released the RFP, uh, for real time information. This is the most important thing that customers have asked for, uh, for as long as I've been in this job, which is to make sure there's some way to. Track how where trains are with buses you can actually do that today, uh, but trains it's a little bit more challenging technologically. So, uh, the governor, uh, and let me let me just finish this off and I wanna say something about the governor. Uh, this was the single biggest thing that people have asked for and the fact that the governor has now given us the ability to spend $12 million. Uh, to make this improvement, uh, over the next several months is a real important, uh, uh, uh benefit for the writers. Let me just say something about this particular governor, Governor Sheryl. I've now worked, uh, one way or the other for 6 governors, uh, for a governor who basically says that, uh, I am determined to put things in place that are small and large, whether it is a painting job on a, on a, on a railing. Uh, or a safety improvement at a train station or buying brand new railcars and buses, what you're seeing this governor do is to singularly focus on making the quality of life for our riders better. Let's talk about those railcars. 374, you said, uh, new railcars. That announcement was back in September and you just started testing some of the new ones. That's right. 2 or 3 have already come in. We go through what is called a commissioning process. I'm sorry, and these are multi-level railcars. These are brand new. Level rail cars uh with uh with really important customer features like charging and for people with a disability to make sure they have a proper and a safe place to be with proper information uh for uh for the customers. Those cars are being tested as we speak. Uh, our goal is to have a total of 40 cars by the end of this year, uh, obviously, but these are live testing that happens on, on tracks that we run our service on. Once they figure out what improvements need to be made, they'll go back to the factory for changes. All right, we have a caller right now. Paul from Hillsborough is on the line. Paul, thanks for calling in. What's your question? Uh, not a question, but a complaint. Um, at the Princeton Junction, uh, train station. Um, near the front end of the, uh, platform. At the bottom of the stairs there's a handicapped ramp. The condition of that is OK, but the stairway next to it going up to the platform, uh, is in dire need of repair. So I'd like to, uh. Get Mr. Coy's comment to see if any repairs can be made. Paul, uh, let me just say not only do I appreciate your call, but that's the train station I take every single day. So, uh, the, the platform, not the platform, but the handicap ramp and the stairs are managed by the West Windsor Parking Authority. Uh, I assure you, uh, as soon as I leave here, uh, I will call the chairman and I'll have a conversation with him to make sure that these repairs are done. This is a great example of a caller who sees something that can be fixed. This is not a lot of money. This shouldn't take a lot of time, uh, and Paul, uh, if you'd be kind enough to leave your number with the producer, I'll call you back sometime this week with an answer. Chris, and we're gonna take another quick break. We'll be right back here with more on news.

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MTNJAskKKCBlock0609_2026-06-09-18-36-07

Any chance you'd ever want to force Amtrak to improve the Infrastructure so that we don't have these delays and cancellations and it's actually worth the prices of getting to the city. That's Wayne from Middletown right there, Chris and Wayne. You know, the analogy I use is it's like renting a house and the heater breaks down in the middle of the winter and you have to wait for your landlord to come and fix it and you can't even touch it and you're at the landlord's mercy. That's a bit about how I feel, uh, about the tracks that, uh, we run on every single day. Uh, I will tell you, uh, that my relationship with Amtrak is, uh, a little bit better than it has been in the past, uh, and in fact the chairman of Amtrak texted me and called me this morning. To make sure that he continues to keep an eye on what is happening both for regular commuters as well as for FIFA, that is what I expect from them every single day. Uh, that is the only way we're gonna be able to provide reliable service, and I assure you as long as I'm in this job. I will do just that, very quickly, Chris, uh, Portal North Bridge project, one track completed. When is the next, the second track going to be completed? So we're going to do the in sometime around September we'll start the second track opening. Will there be another cutover? There will be. Uh, that'll take another 30 days just like it did in the spring. But at the end of that you'll have a brand new bridge and we'll never have to deal with the old portal bridge again. Status of the Newark Bay Bridge, uh, replacement project that was supposed to be, I guess, 88 lanes originally, now 4. So interestingly enough, the bridge that we're advancing is still a brand new 4 lane bridge. It has never changed, and we're still gonna do that and the construction contract was awarded for the first. To contracts and followed by other contracts. Finally, let's just bring it back to the World Cup right now. You're going to be holding an event on safety. Yes, there's nothing more important to me and the governor and the state police than to make sure the fans are safe. We want to make sure that they are they they experience. event with at these stadiums, but they're also doing it safely. That's why we don't want people to walk, take unauthorized buses, and other things. All right, Chris Kalori, thank you so much for being here. Chris Kalori, head of New Jersey Transit and the Turnpike Authority, thank you so much for joining us here in the studio. Thank you and thank you for watching News 12 New Jersey's Ask Chris Kalori. We'll see you again next time.

https://vod.prod.alticeustech.com/transcode/ed7c34b9-806d-4574-ab0b-dbb2178b526f/ed7c34b9-806d-4574-ab0b-dbb2178b526f.transcribe

Kris Kolluri, head of New Jersey Transit and the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, answered viewers' questions on News 12 New Jersey's “Ask Kris Kolluri” program.

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