South Jersey riders have been saying the same thing for years: They help fund NJ
Transit, but don’t see the same level of service as riders to the north. There are fewer
buses, rail options are limited and big announcements about transit improvements often
seem to stop somewhere around Trenton.
Kris Kolluri doesn’t dispute that history — and he’s no stranger to it. Before taking over
NJ Transit and the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, he spent years working in and
around Camden, first leading the Camden Community Partnership, where he helped
launch first and lastmile transportation solutions, major street improvements and park
projects, and then as CEO of the Rowan University/Rutgers–Camden Board of
Governors, overseeing health and jobs-focused initiatives in the city.
He has seen South Jersey’s transit gaps up close.
What he’s arguing now is that the new structure — with NJ Transit and the Turnpike
Authority under one leader for the first time — only succeeds if it changes that reality. If
South Jersey continues to feel shortchanged, he knows the “unified” model will be a
hard sell.
In a recent conversation with BINJE, Kolluri outlined how he sees South Jersey fitting
into the next phase: not as an afterthought, but as a region with its own set of priority
projects — from the River Line to Gloucester County rail to a rebuilt Walter Rand
Transportation Center — all tied together with new tools like microtransit.
Here are six ways Kolluri says the unified approach can move the needle for South
Jersey:
1. Rehab the River Line into a real daily option
The River Line is at the top of Kolluri’s South Jersey list. The lightrail line along the
Delaware through Burlington and Camden already exists — but, in his view, it has to be
upgraded if it’s going to pull its weight in a statewide system.
Under the unified model, he frames rehabilitating the River Line as a core project:
modernizing equipment and infrastructure so service is more reliable and attractive and
making sure it is better integrated with other modes so riders can realistically use it for
work, school and healthcare trips, not just occasional rides.
2. Move the Gloucester-Camden Rail Line from concept to network
Kolluri also sees the Gloucester-Camden Rail Line — the long-discussed Glassboro-to-Camden commuter rail — as part of the South Jersey rail agenda.
He doesn’t present it as a standalone promise. Instead, he folds it into a broader vision
where Gloucester is tied into Camden and the River Line as one connected rail network,
rather than a single project that can be quietly delayed.
The message: In a unified structure, Gloucester is part of the same conversation as
other major rail investments.
3. Turn Walter Rand into a true South Jersey hub
The Walter Rand Transportation Center in Camden is another anchor in his South
Jersey outline.
Kolluri talks about redeveloping Walter Rand so it functions as a modern hub where
buses, the River Line and future services connect seamlessly.
He sees the center as a way to signal that Camden is a key node in the statewide
network, not just a transfer point on the way north — and that South Jersey riders
deserve a station environment and level of coordination that reflect their importance to
the system.
4. Use microtransit to connect lowerdensity communities
Beyond rail and major terminals, Kolluri repeatedly points to microtransit as a tool that
can make South Jersey’s geography work with transit instead of against it and fill gaps
where traditional bus service will never be frequent or flexible enough. The goal is to
connect neighborhoods to job, education and healthcare corridors.
He describes microtransit pilots as proof that smaller vehicles and smarter routing can
significantly improve participation and says early pilots in densely populated Bergen and
Middlesex counties may work even better in South Jersey — a more spreadout region
that is difficult to serve with a single fixed bus line.
5. Align bigpicture planning so South Jersey isn’t an afterthought
One of Kolluri’s larger points is that the governance shift itself should help South Jersey
— simply by changing how projects are chosen and sequenced.
With the Turnpike Authority and NJ Transit under one leader, he argues, it becomes
harder for South Jersey to be left out while highway and rail priorities are set around
North Jersey needs alone.
6. Make progress visible enough that riders feel the difference
Finally, Kolluri is clear that none of this will matter if riders can’t see and feel change.
He links South Jersey projects to the broader “practical, pragmatic” approach he says
Gov. Mikie Sherrill has asked him to take: delivering outcomes that people notice, not
just plans that look good on paper.
For South Jersey, that will mean:
- Tangible upgrades on the River Line
- Real movement on Gloucester-Camden Rail Line
- A visibly improved Walter Rand
- And microtransit services that residents actually use
If those things materialize, he’ll be able to argue that the new, unified model truly is
statewide. If they don’t, Kolluri knows the old critique — that South Jersey pays while
others ride — won’t just survive; it will grow louder.
