Train riders and some bus commuters would still pay a record 25-percent fare hike under a proposal that goes before NJ Transit’s board of directors on Wednesday, but the increase for local bus commuters and light rail riders would instead be 10 percent under a revised plan announced today. The theory behind the lower-than-expected fare hikes was that those bus routes are used by the neediest segment of the population. Trips to New York City are not considered local and would stay at a 25-percent increase, effective May 1.
A “local” bus trip is a relatively short-distance trip, usually one or two fare zones, within New Jersey. For example, Newark to Irvington and Woodbridge to Elizabeth are considered local bus trips.
Access Link trips for the disabled and some Morris County routes, thought to be on the chopping block, would be preserved.
“The modified proposal seeks to minimize the impact of fare changes and service reductions on the most vulnerable riders — low-income riders, students, seniors and customers with disabilities,” NJ Transit executive director Jim Weinstein said today in a statement.
NJ Transit’s board is scheduled to meet at 9 a.m. Wednesday at the Newark headquarters of the agency, the nation’s largest statewide public transportation system.
The modified proposal followed a dozen public hearings and thousands of comments written online.
NJ Sierra Club director Jeff Tittel said cutting the fare increases for bus passengers to 10 percent is movement in the right direction, but that the proposed changes are still “outrageous” and a tax on working families.
He also bemoaned bus service cuts and said keeping train fares at a 25-percent increase would also destroy an important way that people in the state commute.
“NJ Transit should Take a Hike!” Tittel wrote in an e-mail.
NJ Transit officials say a fare increase is necessary to close a $300 million budget deficit the agency faces for the fiscal year that begins on July 1. Star Ledger