[NPR] For years, New Jersey drivers enjoyed relatively cheap gas -- thanks to one of the lowest state gasoline taxes in the country. The state's gas tax hasn't gone up since 1988. But that all changed Tuesday, when it jumped by 23 cents a gallon.Across the state on Monday, drivers raced to fill up their tanks before a tax hike took effect.
"I already went to a couple of different stops, and they were out of regular gas," said Tobin Gringras, as he topped off his tank at a gas station in Hoboken, right across the river from New York City. "So obviously there's a lot of people that are filling up right now."
"I'm speechless, cause I really relied on this," said Jazmine Rogers, who commutes from Ellenville, N.Y., about 90 miles each way. "It's gonna hit my pockets hard, unfortunately."
James O'Connor of Hoboken was skeptical that New Jersey will spend its new windfall wisely. "I just hope it's used for what it's supposed to be used for," he said. "You know, it's supposed to be for roads and bridges and so forth. They put these taxes on, and where's it go?"
There's no doubt that New Jersey's roads are in bad shape. The state's transportation trust fund ran out of money this year. So lawmakers reached a bipartisan deal to raise the state's gas tax by 23 cents a gallon, to 37.5 cents. Gov. Chris Christie says the deal will generate billions of dollars a year for transportation projects, and allow the state to lower the sales tax and phase out the estate tax altogether.
Con't.