NJ Transit is asking the public for feedback on its proposal to hike bus and train fares by 15%.
It’s midway through a weeklong series of public hearings, but some riders say the sessions are too hard to attend and are criticizing the agency for not offering any way to watch or participate in them remotely. The public can submit comments by email at [email protected] or via mail, but no streams are being made available.
Hearings continue on Thursday morning in Woodbridge, Thursday evening in Union County, Friday morning in Secaucus and Friday evening in Newark. A full schedule and information on submitting comments electronically or via mail is here.
At hearings so far this week, some transit riders and advocates have objected to raising costs without first fixing the various service problems on bus and rail lines, and to the lack so far of a dedicated funding source for NJ Transit.
The fare increase would go into effect on July 1 and would be NJ Transit’s first in nine years. The proposal also calls for a 3% annual hike starting in 2025. NJ Transit’s board of directors plans to vote on the hikes in April.
The state-owned agency projected last year that its budget shortfall would reach $119 million for the fiscal year beginning this July — but the fare hike is intended to close that gap. The shortfall could increase to $917 million in the fiscal year beginning in July 2025, and $957 million the following year, according to NJ Transit’s four-year budget forecast. Gov. Phil Murphy proposes meeting that by essentially reinstating a tax surcharge on New Jersey corporations that he’d previously let expire, but restricting the tax to companies making more than $10 million in a year and dedicating the funding to NJ Transit.
The hearings kicked off on Monday in the South Jersey suburb of Cherry Hill’s library. Only 10 people stepped up to the podium during the public comment portion of the sparsely attended meeting.
“The only case for the 15% fare hike is…
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