How do you feel about NJ Transit’s proposed 9 percent average fare increase for rail and bus service?
You can tell the agency on Thursday, May 21, 2015, when it comes to Morristown for one of nine public hearings.
Daily rail passes from Morristown to New York would increase from $13 to $14, while monthly passes would jump from $361 to $393 under the proposal, according to NJ Transit.
In addition to fare hikes, NJ Transit is advocating eliminating service on the 872 Morristown-Route 10-Livingston bus line between Mack-Cali (Parsippany) and the Livingston Mall, among other service cuts. More details on the 872 line are promised for the Morristown hearing.
That hearing is scheduled for the seniors center at town hall, at 200 South St., from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm. Comments also will be accepted online and, via mail, through May 21 at:
Public Hearing Office/Fare Proposal Comments
One Penn Plaza East,
Newark, NJ 07105
NJ Transit, which last raised fares in 2010, says it needs to close a $60 million budget gap for its 2016 fiscal year.
If approved by the agency’s board on July 8, 2015, service changes would start in September, and new fares would kick in on Oct. 1, 2015.
NJ Transit says it already has outlined $40 million in reductions in overtime, fuel savings, energy and vehicle parts efficiencies.
But costs have risen for contract services from Access Link, the organization’s paratransit service; Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, and private carriers. At the same time healthcare and benefits, liability insurance, workers’ compensation and pensions have gone up, according to the agency.
To shore up dwindling funds for ongoing transportation infrastructure projects, the state also is relying on NJ Transit to repay a $241.5 million loan, reports NJ Spotlight.
Democratic legislators and commuter groups who favor a gas-tax increase have criticized NJ Transit and Gov. Chris Christie for burdening working families with proposed rail- and bus hikes, which were announced on Monday.
Tri-State Transportation Campaign told NJ Spotlight that this will be the eighth fare increase for NJ Transit riders since 1988, the last time the state upped the gas tax. New Jersey has the nation’s second-lowest gas tax, according to the report.
The Governor’s proposed budget would slash NJ Transit’s subsidy from $40.3 million to $33.2 million starting July 1; that’s down from $320 million earlier in Christie’s tenure, NJ Spotlight reported.
Public comments never have killed NJ Transit fare hikes, according to The Star-Ledger. But in 2010, the agency reduced the hit for bus riders, and gave reprieves to some bus lines, the paper said.
It remains to be seen whether Trenton can find ways to shore up the state’s Transportation Trust Fund in a year when Assembly members face re-election and the Governor is testing the presidential waters.
