NEWARK, N.J. — NJ Transit spent more than $237 million on overtime in 2024, a figure CEO Kris Kolluri wants to cut to help meet savings called for by the agency’s fiscal 2026 budget.
NJ.com reports that the $237.4 million in overtime last year was a 9% increase from the $216.3 million the year before. Kolluri told the news site he wants to see a 4% cut in OT this year, which would save $9.48 million. NJ Transit’s 2026 operating budget, which totals $3.2 billion, calls for $58 million in savings.
“It is not something I’m just telling people to do it,” Kolluri said. “I will sit there with them, look at the books, see where the overtime is, and I will work with them to reduce it.”
Payroll records show that 88 of the agency’s almost 14,000 full- and part-time employees made more than $100,000 in overtime last year. By comparison, New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority spent $1.37 billion on overtime in 2023 — the most recent year with figures available through watchdog group the Empire Center — with 724 workers earning $100,000 or more in overtime pay.
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Two thoughts: Hire more people; learn how to schedule better. Worked a lot of overtime w/ the USPS but my base wasn’t enough to hit $100,000.
Not bad if this is on top of straight pay hours.