Happy Fare Increase Day
June 1st 2007 12:00 am
NJ Transit now has the highest rail commutation fares in the nation. I hope the service is worth it.
Did you contact your legislators about the fare increase?
- Yes: 7 (27%)
- No: 14 (54%)
- I like paying higher fares: 5 (19%)
Total Voters: 26
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Bob Scheurle responded on 01 Jun 2007 at 9:44 am #
One good thing I just discovered is that rail one-way, off-peak round-trip, and 10-trip tickets have no expiration date. They’re good forever (until you use them, of course). So if you have any pre- fare increase tickets, you can still use them and save some money.
Joe Versaggi responded on 01 Jun 2007 at 11:39 am #
Expiry date or no, people did not seem to take to NJT ticket hoarding anymore than they buy USPS Forever Stamps. Compare that behavior to New Yorkers in the 1970’s and 1980’s when they would hoard subway tokens. The TA would slap on a purchase limit of 2, or say they were changing the token, and then sometimes at the 11th hour, not change them after all.
ryanov responded on 01 Jun 2007 at 8:58 pm #
I did attend fare hearings, but I didn’t think to contact legislators.
I’d even think the fare increase were reasonable IF anyone else had to continually pay extra (not just transit riders). When are we going to fix NJ’s gas tax?
Joe Versaggi responded on 02 Jun 2007 at 7:47 am #
A hike in the gas tax might seem like revenge, but most NJT passengers drive, many got hit with station parking fee hikes last January, so a 10 or 15 cent hike in the gas tax along with the fare hike would have been a triple whammy for most.
Don’t think using some of gas tax hike as a dedicated operating funding source would have prevented this fare hike. Considering what NJT commuters pay, and those obnoxious zone fares and transfer charges on the local buses, NJT’s measly 44% farebox recovery is not commensurate with the fares they are charging. Their costs are the problem. When there is a dedicated operating funding source with formulas, farebox recovery targets also become statutory - it is a double-edged sword. METRA’s (Chicago suburbs) is 48% and their fares are half ours.
On the other hand, CTA (Chicago) enjoys a dedicated operating funding source under the same RTA umbrella from a portion of the regional (not Chicago’s) sales tax. But over the last 25 years, a disproportionate amount of that goes to the suburbs. Unless city/suburb funding formula changes or the legislature in Springfield comes up with $110 million by September, 63 CTA bus routes and the Skokie Swift rail line will be shut down along with a 60% fare hike.
A dedicated funding source should exist, but is not the magic bullet. Until someone critiques and reforms NJT’s cost and efficiency structure, expect NJT fare hikes at 5% annual rates.
Bob Scheurle responded on 07 Jun 2007 at 12:23 pm #
So who are the
fourfive people who voted saying they like paying higher fares?