By Bill Beren • Transportation Committee Chair, Beren1@verizon.net
Mikie Sherrill’s victory is good news for the future of public transportation in New Jersey, and hopefully also for continued electrification of the transportation sector. The Republican candidate, Jack Ciattarelli, wanted to solve New Jersey Transit’s funding problems by further cutting, rather than expanding, service on poorly traveled routes. Experience shows that this makes public transportation less convenient for people and reduces overall ridership.
After the election, Sherrill reached out to the environmental community (including the Sierra Club) for suggestions on potential policy initiatives regarding energy and the transportation sector. The Sierra Club’s responses included:
· Restoring financial incentives to purchase electric vehicles
· Rolling back the excessive EV registration fees imposed by the Murphy administration
· Expanding funding for electric school buses
It is also important that the new administration create a solid, reliable funding source for NJ Transit and to extend the Hudson-Bergen light rail system in Bergen County to Englewood and the River Line in South Jersey to Glassboro.
Time will tell whether these proposals find their way into Sherrill’s policy goals.
Sherrill is expected to continue New Jersey’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), which, through 2024 had earned the state nearly $840 million since Gov. Murphy rejoined the project in 2020. These funds have been reinvested in numerous energy efficiency projects, including funding electric school buses, NJ Transit buses, garbage trucks, and other medium- and heavy-duty vehicles owned by local and state agencies and private companies. Sherrill’s opponent stated his desire to withdraw from RGGI as part of his strategy to lower energy costs. However, RGGI helps reduce CO2 emissions, and the cost of the program is offset by clean energy investments statewide.
EV Sales Hit Record High
Nationwide, according to Cox Automotive, there were 437,487 sales of electric light-duty vehicles in the third quarter of 2025, reaching a record 10.5% of total vehicle sales and up almost 30% year over year.
Once again, Tesla had the top two selling models, and the company saw an increase in sales, reversing a long decline since consumers revolted due to Elon Musk’s involvement in the Trump administration. The Chevrolet Equinox came in third with 25,000 units sold, followed closely by the Hyundai Ioniq 5, the Honda Prologue, and the Ford Mustang Mach-E, each selling over 20,000 vehicles in the third quarter.
This increase was expected as buyers rushed to take advantage of the $7,500 federal EV tax credit, which expired at the end of September, seven years earlier than originally planned. It was cut short by the Trump/GOP-led budget reconciliation legislation. As expected, sales in October plummeted, but it is too early to know how demand will be affected in the long term.
Hyundai is one manufacturer attempting to maintain sales by cutting the manufacturer-suggested selling price of the 2026 Ioniq 5 by up to $9,800 and setting the base Ioniq 5 (rear-wheel drive) at $35,000. In addition, Hyundai continued to offer a $7,500 cash “bonus” for its 2025 models (separate from the federal tax credit). The company stated that its pricing incentives “reflect [their] commitment to affordability and [their] long-term EV strategy.”
An updated list of all state and federal incentives, including for chargers and discounted E-Z Pass and utility rates, is available on the NJ Sierra Club website.
Electric School Bus Initiative
As of November 2025, New Jersey now has 73 electric school buses on the road, up substantially from the 21 we had at the start of the year. In October, ribbon-cutting ceremonies celebrated the addition of electric buses at D&M Tours in Paterson (four 24-seat buses operating in Teaneck), Burlington County Special Services School District (10 full-size and medium-size school buses), and Holcomb Bus Company in Camden (six buses). Princeton also took possession of two electric school buses earlier this year.
For the fifth straight year, the Sierra Club was once again an exhibitor at the New Jersey School Board Association’s annual convention in Atlantic City in October. It was a great opportunity to meet with school board members and administrators and to talk to them about going electric.
Resources
EV Sales: https://tinyurl.com/3w9hk6tn
EV Govt. Incentives: https://shorturl.at/QVqm1