On Final Day Of NJ Transit Fare Hike Hearings, Legislators, Mayors & Advocates Call on NJ Transit, Gov. Murphy & Legislature To Roll Back Fare Hikes for Riders & Hold a Virtual Hearing

Newark – On the final day of NJ Transit’s 10-county 15% fare hike hearings this week, legislators, mayors, advocates and regular transit riders turned out in Secaucus and Newark to call on Governor Murphy, legislative leaders and NJ Transit to move forward on stable dedicated funding for NJ Transit that would include rolling back the NJ Transit fare hikes as part of the dedicated corporate transit fee.

Last Tuesday, Governor Murphy during his FY25 budget address in Trenton announced his proposal for a dedicated source of funding for NJ Transit through a scaled-down corporate business tax surcharge to generate more than $800 million. Riders have turned out to denounce the fare hikes, although not in heavy number because of the lack of a virtual option, even at tonight’s virtual option at the Newark headquarters.  At Friday’s morning hearing in Secaucus, a strong set of riders testified against the hikes, including Sen. Raj Mukherji and Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla, who advocated to stop the NJ Transit fare hikes.

“We need dedicated funding for NJ Transit, and we should not be considering fare hikes in a vacuum and separately from the overall budget discussions,” said Sen. Raj Mukherji (D-Jersey City). “It’s also unconscionable that the public is not being accommodated by a virtual option to participate in the public hearings and that no hearing is being held in Jersey City.”

“A strengthened public transportation system with affordable fares is key to meeting our climate change goals, essential to our quality of life, and an engine of economic growth for all throughout New Jersey. This fare increase moves us in exactly the wrong direction. I urge NJ Transit to go back to the drawing board,” said Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla.

NJ Transit, which would be facing close to a $1 billion fiscal cliff next year because of expiring federal funds, has never had dedicated funding. But the Governor’s plan still won’t avoid his proposed 15% fare hike on all bus and rail riders, including a stealth annual 3% fare hike every future year, as well as the elimination of the widely popular FlexPass, which could result in fare hikes of more than 40% for riders, and the penny-pinching move to invalidate paper train tickets after 30 days.

“I have lived in Passaic for 18 years and I ride the bus almost every day to go to work, to go to see my doctors, and to visit my family. Since the pandemic, things have been rough. Wait times at bus stations have gotten longer, and with inflation at an all-time high, working families like mine are struggling to pay rent, utilities, and put food on the table. As wealthy corporations continue to report record profits, our families continue to struggle. The proposed 15% fare hikes will only hurt us further and we will not be able to afford to ride the bus anymore. Corporations need to pay what they owe and all of what they owe by fully restoring the Corporate Business Tax. We need to make NJ Transit affordable and accessible for working people,” said Avelino Nazario, Make the Road New Jersey member and Passaic resident.

Transit advocates and coalition partners started weighing in at the first hearings on Monday. And they were then joined on Tuesday night by former Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg and long-time transit champion and Asw. Shama Haider at the Hackensack hearing. Senator Cryan joined riders in opposing the fare hikes at a fare hike hearing last night at Kean University in Union County.

“Raising fares while simultaneously spending $24 billion on NJ highway widenings is unacceptable. While we appreciate the plan for the return of the CBT, we need significant strategic investment in NJ Transit coupled with a halt to highway expansions. In short, we need to reallocate funding from toxic greenhouse-gas emitting turnpike projects to mass transit now in order to address our utter dependency on cars and to provide equity, safety, health, and economic vitality to our communities,” said Emmanuelle Morgen, Executive Director, Hudson County Complete Streets.

Advocates also highlighted the inequity in spending more than $10.7 billion on expanding the Turnpike Extension while socking it to NJ Transit bus and rail riders with a fare hike, which was reiterated during a protest of the NJ Turnpike Authority’s open house on the expansion project last week in Newark.

“The state funds NJ Transit as an afterthought, even though for many people it’s the only way to get to their family, doctors, employment, and school. Maybe the politicians who dreamed this up, feel like it’s not a significant amount of money. But for many people it is. And those people are not here, because they have to work, they don’t have the privilege of showing up at a 10:00 am hearing. Even without fare increases, the cost of transit makes it difficult to access for students and low-income New Jerseyans. Implementing a fair fares program modeled after the MTA’s by NJ Transit could significantly improve equity in public transportation. We should be making transit cheaper not more expensive,” said Talya Schwartz, President of SafeStreets JC and a bus rider of Bus #9 and #80.

Even after this week of hearings, the issue of NJ Transit funding will ultimately be decided by the Legislature and Gov. Murphy, despite a requirement for NJ Transit to finalize their next fiscal year budget by April 1.

NJ Transit is accepting public comments until midnight tonight.

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