"I think it's time for NJ Transit to start explaining why a 34 percent fare increase in 5 years is necessary, and where that money is going?" said Darren Meyers of Bloomfield on the Delayed on NJ Transit Facebook page. Commuters on social media were critical of the fare increase proposal. Other routes, such as the 872 Morristown-Livingston Mall, the 419 Camden-Pennsauken and the 463 Woodbury-Avandale Park-Ride would lose stops or late night service. " There not many commuter rail lines with a last run going out at 11 (p.m.) Most have some trains after 12:30 a.m.and 1 a.m." Three bus routes, the 655 Princeton-Plainsboro and two seasonal routes, the 307 Freehold-Great Adventure and 318 Philadelphia-Great Adventure could be discontinued. That's the beginning of service degradations," Alan said. "There are proposed eliminations of the last trains on some routes. Eliminating those trains would discourage discretionary riders, Alan said. Proposed service cuts would eliminate the last trains out of Hoboken on the Montclair-Boonton and the Pascack Valley lines. who said he is more concerned about the service cuts setting the stage for more slashing more train and bus service. "I'm not the least impressed," said David Peter Alan, president of the Lackawanna Commuter Coalition. For station-to-station and one-way fares, visit proposal delivers on a pledge made by Veronique Hakim, NJ Transit executive director, that a fare hike would be held to a single digit increase. Andrew Cuomo pledged to fund half the project – which would be overseen by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey – if the federal government issued a grant for the other half.Īll prices reflect an unlimited monthly pass to New York Penn Station. The tunnels' short shelf life have placed a renewed focus on building new rail tunnels, a $20 billion project without a solid funding plan behind it.Įarlier this month, Gov. The tunnels will likely need to be closed, one at a time, for repairs within the next 5 to 20 years, Amtrak officials have said. On Wednesday morning, trains were delayed more than 30 minutes due to a "smoke condition" in one of the tunnels. "We're nearly halfway to the unveiling of our next state budget and we're not any closer to solving our transportation crisis so riders aren't facing a worse crunch next year."įor many commuters, the fare hike adds insult to injury: With the Hudson River rail tunnels between New Jersey and New York falling apart, trains are regularly delayed for repairs. "The transportation funding structure in New Jersey is broken," Chernetz said. New Jersey commuters pay the highest fares in the nation, which outpace inflation by 25 percent, said Janna Chernetz, a senior New Jersey policy analyst with the Tri-State Transportation Campaign. It's the agency's fifth fare hike since 2000, the first since a 22 percent increase in 2010.Īs of Thursday, a New York-bound commuter from the Aberdeen-Matawan station will be paying exactly $100 more for a monthly pass than they were five years ago. The fare increase was approved as part of NJ Transit's $2.1 billion budget, unanimously passed in July. You could drive yourself, which I wouldn't do because of traffic."
For someone who's raising a family and trying to live in Monmouth County, it's tough," Marlboro resident Mizi Mehaj said in July, minutes before her daily commute from Matawan to New York. "It takes a big chunk out of your pocket, out of your savings. NJ Transit's new train fare schedules go into effect on Thursday, resulting in an average 9 percent increase across all of the agency's stations and rail lines.įor customers on the North Jersey Coast Line, the only line that serves Monmouth and Ocean counties, an unlimited monthly pass to New York Penn Station is increasing between $35 and $40. Watch Video: Commuters frustrated by NJ Transit fare hike