NJ Transit offering free rides for limited time: Gov. Murphy on Good Day

Intro YOU'RE FINE. AND THE RAILS RUNNING ON OR CLOSE. ROSEANNE AND DAN, BACK TO YOU. >> THANK YOU SO MUCH. WELL, TRANSIT RIDERS IN NEW JERSEY HAVE BEEN BATTLING A SUMMER OF MASSIVE HEADACHES. >> THEY HAVE BEEN DEALING WITH FREQUENTLY DELAYED AND CANCELED TRAINS FOR MONTHS. AND THAT'S WHY THIS MORNING WE'RE PUTTING THE SPOTLIGHT ON NJ TRANSIT. JOINING US TO TALK MORE ABOUT THIS IS THE GOVERNOR OF NEW JERSEY, PHIL MURPHY. GOVERNOR NICE TO HAVE YOU BACK ON GOOD DAY NEW YORK. >> THANK YOU, ROSEANNE, AND DAN, THANKS FOR HAVING ME. >> SO NJ TRANSIT HAS TESTED THE PATIENCE OF THE PEOPLE IN YOUR Free rides STATE. WHAT IS GOING ON? >> YEAH, INCLUDING MY PATIENCE. I HAVE TO SAY, IT'S BEEN A IT'S BEEN A REALLY UGLY SUMMER. I THINK JUNE WAS ONE OF THE WORST MONTHS WE'VE HAD. HERE'S THE GOOD NEWS. THE TRAJECTORY FROM WHERE WE WERE TO WHERE WE ARE AND WHERE WE'RE GOING IS VERY POSITIVE. BUT GOOD LUCK TELLING THAT TO SOMEBODY WHO'S STUCK IN A TRAIN UNDER THE HUDSON RIVER FOR 2 OR 3 HOURS, WE HAD AGAIN, JUNE IS THE EXAMPLE. I'LL USE 69% ON TIME PERFORMANCE THAT THAT NORMALLY WOULD BE 80 PLUS PERCENT. NOW, A LOT OF THIS IS DUE TO AMTRAK INFRASTRUCTURE, BUT SOME OF IT'S, ON NJ TRANSIT'S HANDS AS WELL. WE WANT TO END THE SUMMER, FOLKS, ON A GRACE NOTE. THIS IS NOT TO SAY THIS WILL CURE EVERYONE'S LACK OF PATIENCE, UNDERSTANDABLY, BUT I'M ANNOUNCING RIGHT NOW. BEGINNING MONDAY, AUGUST 26TH THROUGH LABOR DAY, SEPTEMBER 2ND, NJ TRANSIT IN ALL OF ITS FORMS TRAINS, BUSSES, LIGHT RAIL WILL BE FREE OF CHARGE. WHAT? >> LITERALLY FREE. WAIT, WAIT. NO NO NO. SAY THAT AGAIN ONE MORE TIME BECAUSE I DON'T THINK I HEARD YOU CORRECTLY. FREE OF CHARGE. >> FREE OF CHARGE, A FAIR HOLIDAY. YOU DON'T HAVE TO PAY ONE PENNY FROM THE EARLIEST TRAIN OR BUS ON MONDAY, AUGUST 26TH TILL THE LAST TRAIN OR BUS DEEP INTO THE EVENING ON LABOR DAY, SEPTEMBER 2ND, AND EVERY DAY IN BETWEEN. NJ TRANSIT TRAINS, BUSSES AND LIGHT RAIL ARE FREE OF CHARGE, SO THAT WOULD BE A SOLID WEEK. >> THAT'S A SOLID WEEK OF FREE Monthly fare discount FARE, IS WHAT YOU'RE SAYING FOR THE PEOPLE OF NEW JERSEY. I MEAN, ESSENTIALLY TO MAKE UP FOR SOME OF THE PROBLEMS THAT THEY HAD IN THE EARLY PART OF THE SUMMER. >> IT IS, I'D SAY, LESS THAN A MAKEUP, BECAUSE I'M NOT NAIVE ENOUGH TO THINK THAT IF YOU'VE HAD THE SUMMER THAT OUR COMMUTERS HAVE HAD, THAT ONE WEEK WILL DO IT, BUT IT IS AN ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND THANKING OUR OUR THOUSANDS, HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF CUSTOMERS, A TIP OF THE CAP AND THE SUMMER ON A GRACE NOTE. BY THE WAY, IF YOU'RE A MONTHLY FARE PERSON, DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT. WE'LL GIVE YOU A 25% DISCOUNT ON YOUR SEPTEMBER MONTHLY PACKAGE TO MAKE UP FOR THIS LAST WEEK OF AUGUST. >> BUT HOW CAN YOU AFFORD THAT? I MEAN, BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY WE WANT YOU TO FIX NJ TRANSIT, Is that okay WHICH OBVIOUSLY IS GOING TO COST A LOT OF MONEY, AND THEN KIND OF GIVING IT AWAY FOR A WEEK, IS THAT OKAY? >> WELL, LISTEN, IT GIVEN THE, THE, THE, THE LACK OF SERVICE THAT WE'VE SEEN OVER THE SUMMER, I THINK IT'S THE LEAST WE CAN D. WE ARE FIXING IT. WE JUST RAISED A CORPORATE TRANSIT FEE THAT WILL RAISE ANNUALLY BETWEEN 800 MILLION AND $1 BILLION TO DO WHAT NJ TRANSIT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO GET NEW EQUIPMENT. ETC, THAT'S GOING TO TAKE CARE OF ITSELF. THIS IS A TIP OF THE CAP TO SAY THANK YOU. THANKS FOR YOUR PATIENCE, WE'RE NOT YOU'RE NOT HAPPY WITH THE PERFORMANCE THIS SUMMER NEITHER ARE WE. NEITHER AM I. PERSONALLY, I'M EXTREMELY FRUSTRATED. AGAIN, A LOT OF THIS IS OUT OF OUR HANDS. >> AND GOVERNOR, YOU TALK ABOUT IT THERE. AMTRAK HAS HAS HAD SOME OF THESE ISSUES, AND SOME OF IT IS SPECIFICALLY HAS TO DO WITH SOME OF THOSE OVERHEAD WIRES. AND WE KNOW THAT YOU HAVE SAID THAT THEY NEED TO FIX THIS. WHAT ARE YOU SEEING IN TERMS OF Projects underway THE ACTUAL THINGS THAT ARE BEING DONE? ARE THERE ACTUAL PROJECTS UNDERWAY NOW TO FIX THIS? >> VERY MUCH SO. I CALLED A SUMMIT IN LATE JUNE BETWEEN AMTRAK AND NJ TRANSIT. THERE ARE DAILY MEETINGS, WORKING GROUPS AMTRAK HAS APPLIED FOR $300 MILLION IN FEDERAL GRANTS TO FIX THOSE OVERHEAD WIRES. THE CATENARY WIRES, WHICH BECOME VERY FINICKY IN IN HIGH HEAT DAYS, WHICH WE'VE HAD A LOT OF THIS SUMMER, SO WE'RE WORKING. WE HAVE A GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH AMTRAK. SO WHILE TWO THIRDS OF OUR DELAYS PLUS OR MINUS ARE DUE TO AMTRAK INFRASTRUCTURE, WE HAVE A VERY GOOD WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM AND WE ARE TOGETHER TRYING TO CURE THE CHALLENGES THAT WE HAD. THIS SUMMER. AGAIN, DAN, THE LONG TERM TRAJECTORY WHERE WE FOUND NJ TRANSIT IN JANUARY OF 2018 TO WHERE WE ARE TODAY, THE IMPROVEMENT IS ACROSS THE BOARD. BUT AGAIN, GOOD LUCK. GOOD LUCK TELLING THAT TO A COMMUTER WHO'S HAD TO DEAL WITH THIS SUMMER. AND THIS AGAIN IS A TIP OF THE CAP TO SAY THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND PATIENCE. >> DOES IT HAVE ANYTHING TO DO? AND YOU KNOW, I KNOW I CAN BE A CYNIC, GOVERNOR. DOES IT HAVE ANYTHING TO DO THAT? THIS IS AN Politics ELECTION YEAR AND DEMOCRATS NEED TO GET EVERYBODY ON BOARD. >> NO, IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THAT. IN FACT, IN NEW JERSEY, OUR KEY ELECTIONS ARE ARE IN ODD NUMBER YEARS IN TERMS OF GOVERNORS, STATE SENATORS AND ASSEMBLYMEN. AND THIS IS A NEW JERSEY ISSUE. WE'VE GOT A FEDERAL DELEGATION THAT'S ALL UP FOR REELECTION. WE'VE GOT A PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT TO ELECT. AND I'M THRILLED WITH OUR TICKET, BY THE WAY, COULD NOT BE HAPPIER WITH THE PAST FEW WEEKS, BUT THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH POLITICS. THIS IS PURELY BETWEEN NJ TRANSIT