NEW JERSEY (PIX11) -- New Jersey Transit commuters are bracing for a 15 % fare increase after the agency announced proposed hikes Wednesday afternoon.
If approved in April, it would take effect this July with a three percent increase annually.
During a presentation, NJ Transit officials said it is facing more than a $119 million budget deficit and that "this proposed fare adjustment would allow NJ Transit to maintain current overall service levels through fiscal year 25 while closing the fiscal year 25 budget gap."
In a statement to PIX 11 News, NJ Transit President and CEO Kevin Corbett said "A decision to propose a fare adjustment is always the last resort, having held the line on any increases for nearly a decade. Before advancing this proposal, NJ Transit looked internally and identified $44 million in internal savings and $52 million in revenue enhancements that reduced the originally projected fiscal year 25 deficit. However, those actions were not enough to eliminate the budget gap entirely."
The last fare increase was nine percent in October 2015.
John Wisniewski, who was a New Jersey Assemblyman for 22 years and served on the Transportation Committee tells PIX 11 News that part of the long-standing problem is that "There's no dedicated annual funding source for New Jersey Transit, so in every year's appropriation process it's really a jump ball to see how much money new jersey transit is going to get."
NJ Transit will hold 10 public hearings on the fare increase from March 4, through March 8.
Dates and times here.
Article From:
pix11.com
English (US) ·