Board approves NJ Transit’s FY19 local and community transportation programs

NEWARK, NJ — On Aug. 8, NJ Transit’s board of directors authorized the expenditure of approximately $45 million in federal and state funds to implement local transportation programs for fiscal year 2019, providing critical local transportation services for senior citizens, persons with disabilities, the economically-disadvantaged and rural residents, according to a press release from NJ Transit.

Each of the programs extends or complements existing NJ Transit services. The programs include:

• New Jersey’s Senior Citizen and Disabled Resident Transportation Assistance Program, funded by the Casino Revenue program;
• A federal program to purchase vehicles and related equipment for private, nonprofit agencies and designated public entities providing transportation services for senior citizens and persons with disabilities;
• A federal program to provide capital, administrative and operating assistance for public transportation services in small urban and rural areas of New Jersey;
• New Jersey Jobs Access and Reverse Commute program, designed to provide access to and from employment centers not directly served by traditional bus and rail services; and
• Federal Rural Transit Assistance Program, which provides training and technical assistance for small transit operators.

“Thousands of New Jersey residents will more easily travel to work, for shopping or to visit loved ones thanks to the funding we approved today,” said New Jersey Department of Transportation Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti, who is also the NJ Transit board of directors chairwoman, in the press release. “We’re pleased to support transportation services in each of the 21 counties, as well as for private and nonprofit organizations supporting seniors and people with disabilities throughout New Jersey.”

“Every New Jersey resident deserves to have access to public transportation, and these grants and programs fill in some of the gaps,” NJ Transit Executive Director Kevin Corbett said in the press release. “It’s important that the local governments and nonprofits who deeply understand local needs have access to the funds, training and support to offer transit solutions for seniors, people with disabilities and working families.”

NJ Transit partners with all 21 New Jersey counties to fund community transportation programs, according to the release.

NJ Transit’s board of directors continued this effort by approving the following programs for FY19, which provides the following:

• $18.59 million from the Casino Revenue Tax Fund to operate the Senior Citizen and Disabled Resident Transportation Assistance Program;
• $8.7 million for Federal Transit Administration Section 5310 programs, which provide federal funds for the purchase of vehicles and related equipment by private, nonprofit agencies and designated public entities; this includes $1.5 million in state funding to support local match requirements;
• $6.1 million for Section 5311 programs, which provide federal funds for capital, administrative and operating assistance for public transportation services in and between small urban and rural areas of New Jersey;
• $123,359 in federal funding for the Rural Transit Assistance Program, which provides training and technical assistance for small transit operators receiving Section 5310 and 5311 funding; and
• $5.3 million for the New Jersey Jobs Access and Reverse Commute Program, under which counties provide public transportation services to help residents obtain convenient transportation to employment opportunities.

Additionally, $6 million in other funds passed through to recipients.

  NJ Transit, Senior Citizens