ELECTEDS, ADVOCATES, RIDERS URGE NJ TRANSIT BOARD OF DIRECTORS TO “VOTE NO” ON PROPOSED 15% FARE INCREASE

Newark – Today, ahead of the NJ Transit Board of Directors meeting, advocates and transit riders held a rally to oppose the proposed 15% fare increase the Board was set to vote on. Members of the Fund NJ Transit coalition were present, including Tri-State Transportation Campaign, New Jersey Policy Perspective, New Jersey Future, Hudson County Complete Streets, EmpowerNJ, Regional Plan Association, New Jersey Bike and Walk Coalition, NJ League of Conservation Voters, elected leaders including Mayor Ravi Bhalla of Hoboken, and others, to urge the NJ Transit board to vote against the proposed fare surge and the subsequent annual increase of 3% every year thereafter.

The lack of sustainable investment in NJ Transit by Trenton has resulted in a loss of $10 billion in opportunities for service improvement, route optimization, bus fleet electrification, and infrastructure modernization. This chronic lack of investment has forced the agency to take drastic measures to balance its budget, like regularly enacting capital to operating transfers to pursue preventative maintenance measures, which has put the burden on the riders who depend on transit for everyday travel. This lack of sustained investment, compounded by the impacts of the pandemic, has resulted in a looming funding deficit, approaching nearly $1 billion by Fiscal Year 2026.

Fortunately, Governor Murphy’s recently proposed Corporate Transit Fee aims to address the need for a dedicated funding source for NJ Transit, which is one of the few transportation agencies in the country without one. NJ Transit’s budget unnecessarily continues to burden riders with a double-digit fare increase.

Community organizations and transit riders gathered to emphasize that a robust, well-funded public transportation system is not merely a convenience but a cornerstone for community revitalization, economic development, equitable access, and improved quality of life across New Jersey. The coalition urgently called on the NJ Transit Board of Directors to “vote no” on the proposed fare increase.

“I urge New Jersey Transit, in the strongest terms possible, to reject what is for residents of Hudson County, an unconscionable increase to utilize our transit system. With mass transit being the engine that drives our economic success, we must find ways to invest in this system that does not unfairly burden working-class residents,” said Ravi Bhalla, Mayor of Hoboken. “The rate hike will result in more cars on our roads, leading to not only reduced ridership on our trains and buses, but also contributing to more greenhouse gasses and exacerbating our climate crisis. The proposed dedicated revenue stream is a good starting point, but we must do more to protect riders from these fare hikes.” 

“As an organizer working directly with New Jersey’s bus riders, I can see firsthand how hard this fare hike will hit our most vulnerable communities,” said Talia Crawford, Advocacy and Organizing Manager at Tri-State Transportation Campaign. “It’s more than a cost issue; it’s a clear sign of our leaders’ misplaced priorities. We demand action from Governor Murphy and the Legislature to secure the state funding we need to provide affordable, reliable transit for all. It’s time to invest in a transit system that truly serves our communities.”

“Nearly two people per day die on New Jersey roadways. The rest are stuck in traffic. It makes no sense to raise NJ Transit fares by double-digits and drive more people to our roadways when we should be incentivizing transit instead. Transit first for a healthier society,” said Emmanuelle Morgen, Executive Director at Hudson County Complete Streets.

“New Jersey Transit needs to be fully funded, but that should not be at the expense of riders. Fare hikes should not be adopted without a comprehensive funding solution for New Jersey Transit. With the Governor’s proposal for a dedicated funding stream through the Corporate Transit Fee, a fare hike at this time is irresponsible when our state budget is still under review. Fare hikes should be a last resort, not the first solution,” said Zeke Weston, Policy Coordinator at New Jersey Future.

“At a time when we should be encouraging more people to take public transit, a double-digit fare increase is punitive and shortsighted. The fare hikes will yield around $120 million, which, while it sounds sizable, will be nowhere near enough to address NJ Transit’s $1 billion fiscal cliff. It will barely make a dent in the budget deficit while creating a heavy burden for riders. We urge the NJ Transit Board of Directors to vote no on the proposed fare increase,” said Christina Kata, NJ Policy Associate at Regional Plan Association.

“State lawmakers have underfunded NJ Transit for decades, and now working class families will have to pay the price without any promise of new or improved service. This fare hike is simply unfair,” said Alex Ambrose, Policy Analyst at New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP). “Today’s vote underscores the serious need for a dedicated and reliable source of state funding for NJ Transit, just like every other major transit system in the country. It’s time for lawmakers to stand up for commuters and finally fix NJ Transit by passing the Corporate Transit Fee. If riders will have to pay more, big corporations making record profits should also pay more for a transit system that they benefit from.”

“Before we ask working families to dig deeper to pay for higher fares, we need wealthy executives and shareholders to pay their fair share,” said Eric Benson, Campaign Director of For the Many NJ. “While big corporations may not be the ones riding NJ Transit, they reap massive benefits when their workers can take a bus or train to get to work, or when their customers take transit to shop, dine, and go to events across the state. Bringing back the full corporate surcharge is the fairest way to fund our infrastructure and create a strong economy that works for all families.”

“NJ Transit fare hikes historically have delivered one clear result – the more you ask riders to pay, the less riders will take NJ Transit. A fare hike of 15% will hurt the most vulnerable bus riders hardest and drive other riders to get back into their cars – meaning more pollution and traffic on our roads. NJ Transit can’t balance its budget on the backs of bus and train riders with the fiscal cliff looming and NJ Transit Board members should listen to riders and show independence by opposing this fare hike. The ultimate decider for this fare hike should be the NJ Legislature who will vote on the FY25 budget days before a fare hike would go into effect. It’s time to invest in NJ Transit and not highway expansions – and not shake down riders for more dollars. NJ Transit needs stable dedicated funding to stay in existence — and the NJ Transit Board and the Legislature should reject this fare hike,” said Doug O’Malley, Director of Environment New Jersey.

“Public transit is essential for millions of New Jerseyans, especially those who are low-wealth and cannot afford an individual vehicle, and for urban communities with limited infrastructure to support personal vehicles. A double-digit increase, combined with three percent in following years, will significantly impact many New Jerseyans’ ability to utilize NJ Transit,” said Ed Potosnak, Executive Director of New Jersey LCV. “Affordable, safe, and reliable public transportation is critical to reduce air pollution and combat climate change. New Jerseyans rely on public transit to get to work and school, access healthy and fresh foods, seek out green spaces, visit friends and family, and so much more. We urge NJ Transit to reconsider such a significant fare increase and keep NJ Transit accessible to all New Jerseyans.”

“Governor Murphy said he would “fix NJ Transit if it killed him”. Instead he is killing us with his fare hikes and ongoing unreliable service. I know…I am a regular train rider of NJ Transit where extensive delays and cancellations are still the norm. The State has to stop operating NJ Transit on a shoestring budget,” stated Amy Goldsmith, NJ State Director at Clean Water Action. “To keep NJ Transit moving without a fare hike, we must switch tracks – stop funding the NJ Turnpike expansion and redirect all $10+billion to transit, fix it first, pedestrian and other climate-friendly mobility projects. In doing so, we get people to school, work, home safely, keep the air cleaner and lungs healthier. Fix this Governor Murphy…The solution to fare hikes and more cars clogging the road is looking us right in the eye.”

“The fare increase is a direct result of the Governor’s misplaced priorities and indifference to the concerns of NJ workers. The money being spent on the unneeded and unwanted $10.7 billion Turnpike expansion should be repurposed to prevent the fare increase. And while the Governor contends that paying a congestion pricing toll would be “backbreaking” and a “financial disaster” for the relatively affluent drivers who choose to drive into New York, he has expressed no such concerns about saddling low- and middle-income transit riders with a 15% fare increase.  The Governor, not congestion pricing, will be the reason why the vast majority of NJ  commuters will be paying more for their commutes,”  said John Reichman, EmpowerNJ Steering Committee Member.

“Putting the burden on transit riders is shortsighted and the wrong approach. It further penalizes our working and low-income families who rely on public transit, and won’t solve our transit funding gap.  A fare hike of 15% will only discourage transit riders resulting in more cars, more congestion, more fatalities on our roads and more pollution putting us further away from our statewide climate change goals,” said Debra Kagan, Executive Director of New Jersey Bike & Walk Coalition. “We need our legislators to support dedicated funding as the solution and the NJ Board of Directors to implement strategies that support equitable mobility and active transportation options for our underserved communities, not undercut the growth of public transit. The corporate surcharge is the fairest way now to fund transit and a no vote on the proposed fare increase puts us in the right direction.”

Yadira Alvarez, bus rider and member of Make the Road New Jersey, said: “I have lived in Passaic for 20 years and take the bus nearly every day. I’m here alongside fellow bus riders to ask NJTransit to vote NO to fare hikes. A vote for fare hikes is a vote against New Jersey working families who are already struggling with sky-rocketing rent and the rising cost of everyday items. In February 2024, because of our collective efforts, Governor Murphy announced a corporate transit fee on profits over 10 million dollars to fund NJTransit. It is a step in the right direction. But fare hikes fly in the face of that proposal – we need NJTransit and state leadership to stand up with working people and say we will make wealthy corporations pay what they owe and leave nothing on the table so we have an accessible and healthy NJTransit that does not burden working families. We must fully restore the corporate business tax to fully fund NJTransit.”

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