Thursday marks NJ Transit’s first day since 2018 without Kevin Corbett as its CEO and president. (Photo by Edwin J. Torres/N.J. Governor’s Office)
Thursday marks a new era at NJ Transit, one without the man who has been at its helm for seven years.
Kevin Corbett, who was appointed seven years ago as the transit agency’s CEO and president, stepped down Wednesday, with transit advocates and lawmakers lamenting his term at NJ Transit as a missed opportunity to overhaul public transportation in the Garden State. It wasn’t always Corbett’s fault, some said.
“Unfortunately, he was dealt a very bad hand from the start, and it hasn’t improved. He was appointed by a governor who never had his back and, frankly, hasn’t had New Jersey Transit riders or workers in mind throughout his tenure,” said Danny Pearlstein of the Riders Alliance, a group that advocates for the region’s transit users.
Alex Ambrose, a transit advocate with progressive think tank New Jersey Policy Perspective, celebrated Corbett’s support for a corporate transit fee — a tax on highly profitable businesses meant to offer a steady, though temporary, stream of funding for NJ Transit starting next fiscal year.
“He and Governor Murphy inherited the agency after it faced years of underfunding, and likely it was at its lowest point,” she said. “But we also know it’s going to take more than just one person or one policy to fix the agency and give riders the service they deserve.”
Corbett announced his departure in December after seven years sprinkled with positivity and massive challenges. In 2023, the transit agency won the “Most Outstanding Public Transportation” award from the American Public Transportation Association, recognized for its recovery post-pandemic. He oversaw the introduction of new safety technology and helped improve infrastructure while other agencies across the country reduced services.
Still, the agency has been the target of a steady stream of complaints from riders. An engineer shortage and strike threat, controversy over the agency moving its headquarters to a pricey office space in Newark, a summer filled with numerous train delays and cancelations, and a 2024 fare hike that caused some ticket prices to spike 15% all caused Corbett headaches during his tenure.
Assemblyman Christopher DePhillips (Hal Brown for New Jersey Monitor)
Assemblyman Chris DePhillips (R-Bergen), a member of the Assembly Transportation Committee, said Wednesday he didn’t want to spend Corbett’s last day in office attacking him, noting he’s done plenty of that over the last year. DePhillips asked Corbett to resign during a November legislative hearing.
Instead, DePhillips said he wants to celebrate the incoming NJ Transit chief.
“I’m hoping the new leadership at New Jersey Transit will own the problem and really embrace solutions, talk to stakeholders, talk to the Legislature about what we can do to improve the customer experience,” he said.
Corbett does have fans among some lawmakers.
“I’ve been and remain one of NJ Transit’s harshest critics, but I can say unequivocally that in one of the most difficult and challenging jobs in state government — absent adequate, permanently dedicated and recurring revenue that other similarly sized transit agencies enjoy — Kevin Corbett has been the best head of that agency I’ve ever worked with,” said Sen. Raj Mukherji (D-Hudson), vice chair of the Senate Transportation Committee.
Kris Kolluri, a former state transportation commissioner, will succeed Corbett. Kolluri also served as CEO and president of the Gateway Development Commission, which is overseeing construction of the new Hudson River rail tunnel.
Kolluri will be busy right away. The agency faces a $767 million budget gap beginning in July that lawmakers hope the new business surtax will fill. A potential rail workers strike looms. And the agency is tasked with boosting service in advance of New Jersey hosting the World Cup final in 2026.
Pearlstein said the new NJ Transit chief is walking into a mess of an agency, but he’s a “seasoned professional.”
“The best we can hope for is a leader who treads water, who keeps his head above water throughout the day,” he said. “The seas are rough, the surf is up.”
DePhillips argues that NJ Transit has all the money it needs, and that instead, the agency needs better organization. He also wants to see more accountability and less blame aimed at Amtrak, which NJ Transit often cites as the culprit behind delays and service cancelations.
“New Turkey Transit is its own standalone agency, and it needs to get its act together. And I’ve been saying that for a long time,” he said.
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