Governor-Elect Mikie Sherrill is counting on one man to improve commuting around New Jersey by train, bus and car.

In a News 12 exclusive, Tom Krosnowski sat down with Kris Kolluri to look ahead for riders who are paying the Toll of Commuting along New Jersey Transit and the Turnpike Authority roads as he prepares to lead both agencies.

"You have a segment on News 12 called ‘Toll of Commuting,’ Kolluri said. “You focus on all modes. Our job here is the same. We will focus on all modes to make sure the residents are served best.”

Kolluri often called his role as New Jersey Transit President and CEO a “13-month assignment.” Instead, he’ll be staying on as an at-will-employee under the new administration and taking on a new challenge as executive director of the Turnpike Authority.

“This is going to be a journey that is going to require a different kind of thinking,” Kolluri said. “How we think about everything from energy to transportation to housing.”

New Jersey Transit has unveiled a plan to develop some of its own land into housing and other revenue sources. Kolluri believes it could generate billions, reducing the need for those automatic, annual 3% fare increases that began in summer 2024.

“You asked me about a future fare increase, and how do we deal with it,” Kolluri said. “It would be better as a system if everybody paid for it.

He estimates the agency loses $90 million from fare evasion. That’s about 10% of NJT’s overall ticket revenue.

“It’s no different than somebody going through a drive-thru, ordering food and then driving off without paying for it,” Kolluri said.

The new Portal Bridge is almost ready - but moving operations over might cause some temporary frustrations with trains redirected, or even canceled.

“While it is true that this Portal cutover could take up to four weeks to do, once it's done, you're going to have a new bridge with the kind of reliability that we haven't seen in almost 50 years,” Kolluri said.

And the summer will bring the biggest test - the FIFA World Cup - when tens of thousands of tourists will use NJ Transit as their ride to the state’s eight matches, including the final. Kolluri says even those who aren’t going to MetLife Stadium will need to adjust.

“My advice to commuters is to say for those eight games, if you can work from home, you should work from home,” said Kolluri.

It will be a tall order for Kolluri and Sherrill early in their partnership as they chart a new course for commuting in the Garden State.