(Video) A capacity crowd of commuters and mass transit advocates gave New Jersey Transit officials an earful during a public hearing last night about a record 25-percent fare hike proposed to go into effect May 1. They came in such great numbers there was a waiting list to get into the room, and the hearing extended well beyond the scheduled three hours. From a room as packed as an NJ Transit train at rush hour, commuters and mass transit advocates gave agency officials an earful tonight over a record 25-percent fare hike that, if approved, will take effect May 1.

“This fare is unfair!” David Peter Alan, a sight-impaired rail commuter from South Orange who chairs the Lackawanna Coalition rail advocacy group, shouted in a sermon-like address interrupted with cheers from the crowd of 140 inside the hearing room. Dozens more people waited outside for their chance to get in.

“I don’t understand the strategy — raise the fare and cut the service,” said Bobby Hill of Newark. “I think that the well-off people that made this decision don’t ride buses.”

“This is Robin Hood in reverse,” said Amalgamated Transit Union leader John Costa.

The public hearing at NJ Transit’s Newark headquarters was one of four held around the state tonight (the others were in Paterson, Trenton and Manalapan). In all, a dozen will be held between tonight and Friday afternoon.

Hearings are scheduled for 5:30 to 8:30 tonight at the Frank R. Lautenberg Rail Station in Secaucus, Camden City Hall, Morristown Town Hall, Long Branch Middle School and the Port Authority Bus Terminal in midtown Manhattan.

The final three are scheduled from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Bergen County Freeholders public meeting room in Hackensack, the Atlantic City Rail Terminal and East Brunswick Community Arts Center Theater.

In addition to paying 25 percent more in fares, customers would also have fewer trains and buses from which to choose, with 32 trains and 33 buses being dropped. At least two trains were deleted from each of NJ Transit’s 11 train lines.

Bus riders are likely to see reduced service frequency on about 50 routes, with waits to increase by 5 to 20 minutes.

The bus Kim Quinn of Somerset County takes to work is scheduled to be eliminated.

“I have to cab to get to work every day,” she said. “It’s going to cost a fortune.”

Keith Moore said his bus pass would go up to $82 a month.

“Thank you to New Jersey Transit for helping me decide on buying a car,” he said.

Under the proposal, the cost of a bus trip from Paterson to New York, for example, would increase from $5.25 to $6.50, and a train trip from Montclair State University to New York would jump from $5.75 to $7.25.

Ashley Taylor, a recent graduate of Drew University, said half her paycheck goes to student loans and a quarter of the paycheck goes to transportation. With the proposed fare increase, she said, 40 percent of her check will go toward transportation.

Some commuters said they would be faced with a choice: Transportation or food.

Kimberly Eastwood, a single mother from Ocean Township who pays $239 a month for the train to Newark, broke into tears when she talked about how the increase would affect her family’s income.

“You don’t think about your riders,” she said between sobs.

NJ Transit officials said that with a reduced state subsidy of $33 million, the loss of $150 million in one-time federal stimulus money, a 4-percent decrease in ridership due to the economic downturn and contract obligations, there was no choice but to raise fares.

NJ Transit, the nation’s third largest public transit system, also is looking to cut costs by laying off 200 workers, reduce contributions by one-third to its employee 401(k) retirement fund and decreasing executive pay by 5 percent.

Several speakers charged that the proposed fare increase is a tax hike on the elderly, disabled and poor, and wondered why the state’s gas tax wasn’t increased instead.

But Gov. Chris Christie told The Star Ledger’s editorial board last week that drivers have already paid more for tolls during the past four years, while NJ Transit riders haven’t had an increase in three years, when there was a 9-percent hike in 2007.

“Drivers have paid increased tolls two years in the last four years and I didn’t think it was their turn to feel the pain, when mass transit riders have not had an increase in three years,” Christie said.

He said commuters still pay less than 50 percent of what it costs to run New Jersey Transit.

Alma Scott-Buczak, NJ Transit’s assistant executive director/human resources, who moderated the Newark public hearing and patiently listened to outraged commuters as they vented, told audience members that all of their comments will be taken into consideration.

“This is only a proposal,” she said. Star Ledger