ICYMI: Cinde Warmington Visits C&J Bus Lines Terminal on "Cut the Costs" Tour

PORTSMOUTH, NH — In Case You Missed It, SeacoastOnline covered Democratic nominee for governor Cinde Warmington’s latest stop on her "Cut the Costs" tour at the C&J Bus Lines terminal in Portsmouth. Cinde spoke with Jim Jalbert, owner and president of C&J Bus Lines, about the impact of Donald Trump’s reckless tariffs, Kelly Ayotte’s veto of the Ten-Year Transportation Plan, and rising diesel prices.

In July, Kelly Ayotte became the latest governor to veto the Ten-Year Highway Plan, following one-term governor Craig Benson. In the wake of the veto, Jalbert highlighted in a SeacoastOnline op-ed how Ayotte “Massed Up” the highway plan — a move that was derided by Republicans as “short-sighted and unprecedented.”  Although Ayotte’s veto was later overwhelmingly overridden, she proved that she’d rather raise vehicle registration fees on Granite Staters instead of raising tolls on out-of-state drivers.

As governor, Cinde will put Granite Staters first — making sure that New Hampshire’s roads and bridges are safe for drivers to use.

Read the full story here and below.

Seacoast Online: C&J Bus leader cites high costs, backs Cinde Warmington for NH governor

• C&J Bus Lines chief executive Jim Jalbert said Sept. 15 diesel costs have more than doubled in the past year as the Seacoast New Hampshire-based bus service has seen a decline in international traveler ridership to Logan Airport in Boston.

• Last year, retail diesel costs sat around roughly $2.80 per gallon, but have since jumped to about $6.25 per gallon, though C&J purchases wholesale fuel for the year, according to Jalbert.

• C&J Bus Lines uses 34,000 gallons of diesel each month across its fleet.

• “You talk to all the fuel dealers, they’re all saying, 'Don’t buy,'” Jalbert said Sept. 15.

• C&J offers bus service from Dover, Portsmouth and Seabrook to Logan Airport and to South Station in Boston, as well as New York City.

• Jalbert spoke as C&J hosted a visit by Cinde Warmington, the state’s Democratic nominee for governor, to the Grafton Drive terminal. The former New Hampshire Executive Council member is going head-to-head against Gov. Kelly Ayotte, a Republican, in the November general election. This summer, Jalbert wrote an op-ed, criticizing Ayotte for vetoing the state's 10-year transportation plan, though the state legislature later overrode Ayotte's veto.

• “The things we’re hearing about from Jim are the tariffs and how they’re impacting the cost of business, (and) of course the war (in Iran) and how it’s impacting the cost of diesel,” Warmington said. “He’s got to look at buying fuel for the next year. The price is so volatile that it’s not really easy to make that kind of a decision about when to buy. Nobody’s buying in advance.”

• Airfares have risen, resulting in a decrease in European tourism locally and fewer C&J riders who are departing to fly out of the country, Jalbert said.

• “All of that is tied to the core policies of (the current presidential) administration. We need to be really focused on ensuring we’re protecting our country on tourism and make sure that the price of fuel is so that it doesn’t crush our small businesses,” Warmington said.

• In January 2025, C&J implemented a pay-to-park system at its Dover and Portsmouth stations, bringing in additional revenue to pay for staff wages and benefits and inflationary pressures. The company employs roughly 140 workers.

• Considering higher fuel costs, Jalbert stated all transportation companies are assessing whether to increase customer ticket costs. But Jalbert and Jamie Casey, president of C&J Bus Lines, said they are looking to avoid that in the near term.

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• Despite voting for Ayotte in the 2024 general election, Jalbert is now endorsing Warmington for governor. 

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• Warmington jabbed at Ayotte’s veto. “That is an important public safety issue in terms of keeping our roads and bridges safe,” Warmington said. “It’s also an important issue to tourism in the state. It was really a bad decision on the part of the governor and I was happy to see the legislature overrode that.”

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