TOLL CREDIT Toll Credits were created in the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) and are to be used as a credit toward the non-Federal matching share of programs authorized by Title 23 (except for the emergency relief program) and for transit programs authorized by Chapter 53 of Title 49.

The amount of credit earned is based on revenues generated by the toll authority (i.e., toll receipts, concession sales, right-of-way leases or interest), including borrowed funds (i.e., bonds, loans) supported by this revenue stream, that are used by the toll authority to build, improve or maintain highways, bridges or tunnels that serve interstate commerce.

The federal government has allowed the state and local governments to use toll credits to be part of the 20% local matching funds in regard to transit grants.

This results from the recognition that different modes of transportation are interconnected. Capital expenditures to reduce congestion in a particular corridor benefit all modes in that corridor, be they automobiles, transit buses, or a rail system.

URBAN CORE the Urban Core includes several critically important mass transit projects that integrate transit services in northern New Jersey. The Urban Core includes the Newark-Elizabeth Rail Link and Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, among several other projects. The Urban Core was first authorized in the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) in 1991, reauthorized in The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) in 1998, and reauthorized in the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) in 2005. As provided in Section 3031(b) of ISTEA, NJ TRANSIT may use locally funded projects, such as the Kearny and Waterfront Connections and New Jersey Turnpike projects, as local match for the Hudson Bergen LRT and other Urban Core projects.