FOR RELEASE: December 20, 2000

NJ-ARP: PROPOSED PATH FARE INCREASE OF CONCERN, REGRESSIVE NATURE OF HIKE AND INEQUITY TO TRANSIT RIDERS QUESTIONED

EXCHANGE PLACE, JERSEY CITY, NJ, December 20, 2000 -- The New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers (NJ-ARP) questions the proposed PATH fare increase. We do so because we believe the proposed hike will discourage current ridership from selecting PATH for their journeys. The proposed fare boost will have the unintended effect of subsidizing less energy efficient single occupant vehicle users thereby adding to roadway congestion and air pollution.

NJ-ARP (http://www.nj-arp.org), founded in 1980, is the statewide rail passenger advocacy group that has consistently backed reasonable and affordable rail fares throughout the state. NJ-ARP's membership includes residents in all counties where PATH users reside.

NJ-ARP believes that the proposed PATH one-way cash fare of $2.00 is inequitable and unfairly burdensome to transit riders. This 100% increase far exceeds the percentage increase in bridge and tunnel tolls even in peak usage times. The PATH hike will impose a financial hardship on those who have no access to an automobile or are unable to use one because of age or disability. It also levies a penalty on riders who voluntarily choose to use public transit, the very riders PATH seeks to attract. These riders should not be expected to subsidize automobile users through the payment of a higher marginal rate of fare increase.

A PATH fare hike also has the potential to divert a substantial number of riders from Hoboken's Morris & Essex Line trains to the Morris & Essex MidTown Direct line into New York. This shift of riders would have the unintended effect of exacerbating the already severe overcrowding on the MidTown Direct trains that now operate well above their capacity. Hoboken, which has unused capacity, has the ability to accommodate additional riders who would otherwise migrate to the acutely overcrowded MidTown Direct trains. PATH needs to encourage this trend. It would not do this with the proposed increase.

NJ-ARP also believes that in exchange for any increase, PATH must be in the position to establish the following:

• Time of day fares
• Senior Citizen/Student Discount fares
• Weekend "encouragement" fares
• Interchange Opportunities with Hudson/Bergen Light Rail and the New York City Subway System

With the above subjectivities, NJ-ARP could be open to some form of fare increase in the future. However, for now, NJ-ARP recommends that the PATH fare increase, as proposed, be rejected. Further, we urge that the time-of-use tolls on the Port Authority bridges and tunnels be initiated. We believe that the demand at the bridges and tunnels is sufficiently inelastic that a sizeable revenue enhancement will result from any price increase. This enhancement could be used to benefit PATH.