Deadline for Online Comments About Proposed NJ Transit Fare Hikes and Service Cuts Tonight, Public Hearing in Trenton

New_Jersey_Transit_train_5427_enters_PlainfieldTonight is the deadline to voice your concerns or comments about NJ Transit’s proposed fare hikes and service cuts. The proposed fare increases average about nine percent and the changes are scheduled to take effect in September and October.

You can submit your comments online before midnight. A public hearing is being held at the Trenton Train Station on South Clinton Avenue in the city from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. tonight.

A one-way fare between New York from Princeton Junction would increase from $14.25 to $16. A one-way fare between the Dinky Station to New York would increase from $16.50 to $17.75. A monthly pass for travel between Princeton Junction and New York would increase from $414 to $451. A monthly pass for travel between the Dinky Station to New York would increase from $458 to $499. A one-way bus fare between Princeton and Trenton would increase from $2.55 to $2.75. A monthly bus pass for travel between Princeton and Trenton would increase from $76 to $83.

New Jersey Transit will hold nine public hearings and one information session to allow the public the opportunity to learn more about the proposed fare increases and service changes and offer comments before the plan is considered by the New Jersey Transit Board of Directors on July 8. The first public meeting will be held Saturday, May 16.

The cuts would eliminate the 655 bus between Princeton and the University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro.

New Jersey Transit has cited the rising costs of contract services such as paratransit services for people with disabilities, the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail and private carriers , healthcare and benefits, liability insurance, workers’ compensation and pensions as reasons for the fare increases. In 2010 New Jersey Transit hiked fares by about 25 percent.

New Jersey Transit has cut more than $40 million from the budget, but officials say the agency still faces a budget gap of approximately $60 million for the 2016 fiscal year.