Commuter Blues On The NJ Transit

The state debt for New Jersey may be making its residents unhappy, but a recent announcement of fare hikes for the NJ Transit does little to relieve their woes.

Early March, James Weinstein, the executive director for the NJ Transit, released plans that the agency will be seeking approval by its board to raise fares for trains, buses and lightrail by 25 percent. Average rider tickets will increase by almost two dollars; for instance, a single ride from Montclair State University, normally $5.75, would become $7.25.

Scheduled lines will also be cut from all the major train routes, with five train lines each day being cut from the Northeast Corridor, and seven weekday trains from the Morris and Essex lines. Overall, 32 commuter trains will be cut.

"It's outrageous," says Joseph Belverio of Bloomfield, who rides the Montclair-Boonton line five days a week into Manhattan. "I've been a commuter for a long time. It feels like punishment."

According to The Huffinton Post, the NJ Transit is the nation's third largest agency for public trains, buses and rails, servicing over 5,000 square feet of land. Despite such figures, its ridership was down by 4 percent from last year, and is facing a budget shortfall of $300 million. Because of such failing numbers, the service had its state subsidy cut by 11 percent, or about $33 million. With the potential changes, the NJ Transit expects more than $140 million in revenue.

Still, many see the fare hikes and cuts as unneeded backlash against everyday users and commuters due to faulty budgeting, as well as underfunding from the state.

Karen Olivio, a resident of Kearny, uses the NJ Transit bus four times a day to get to her job in Bloomfield, five days a week. For her, a bus card is around $80 every two weeks, equaling to about $160 a month. To a part time worker, she feels she is wasting half of her paycheck, before the hikes. "It's not worth it to come to work," she says. "It's too much for them to raise the bus."

Three bus routes are planned to be cut entirely, with waits for existing buses being extended from anywhere between 5 to 20 minutes because of service cuts through the day

Citizens and riders alike have begun protesting the changes throughout the state. The NJ Transit recently had hearings in four different New Jersey cities, including Newark, where large turnouts resulted. What the agency saw was, according to NJ.com, a myriad of people scared of their personal economic crises in the face of trying to pay to get to work.

"Portions of my paycheck go into the NJ Transit every month," says Joe. "It's not our fault, we shouldn't have to pay."

For now, the changes are merely a proposal. Should the plan get approved, the changes will go
into effect May 1st.

Both pictures courtesy of NJ.com.