Bad timing, again.
NJ Transit, which has been reeling from a series of service suspensions and delays between New York and New Jersey, is reminding its customers that the first fare hike in nearly a decade goes into effect on Monday.
Given how the commutes have been lately, people have feelings about that.
"I can't even process the gall it takes to post this," one social media user responded to NJ Transit's reminder post on X.
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"Well deserved. Happy to pay up for the premium service you’ve provided lately. Keep up the good work!" quipped another.
Yet another urged NJ Transit riders to boycott buying tickets entirely "and just get on," saying they deserve a free month. Words like "absolute joke" and "scam" were bandied about, too.
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NJ Transit didn't appear to respond directly to those criticisms on X.
In April, the transit agency's board of directors unanimously approved the 15% fare increase for bus, train and light rail riders to take effect July 1, 2024. There will be a 3% annual increase indefinitely starting July 1, 2025.
A rally is planned in protest of the fare hikes Friday. People want New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy to take action to halt the hike, given how the commutes have been lately.
It's been an awful month for NJ Transit in terms of service to and from New York's Penn Station, and Murphy first called out NJ Transit early into it. Service has been suspended on at least five occasions in June, mainly during rush hour and largely because of issues related to Amtrak's overhead wires.
Both transit agencies said Thursday they'd work together to accelerate investigations into the suspensions and shore up equipment.
NJ Transit's hike, which was initially proposed in late January, comes after the agency's preliminary estimates for Fiscal Year 2025 found a budget deficit of $119 million. The new prices hope to help close that budget gap.
Officials have known for a few years that they would run into this fiscal dead end. Even though NJ Transit ridership has reached about 80% of its pre-COVID levels, the agency is entering its fifth consecutive year of ridership below pre-pandemic levels. This low ridership has resulted in the loss of nearly $2 billion in fares, according to NJ Transit.
Despite NJ Transit using federal COVID relief funds over a few years to offset the loss, the funding will be exhausted in Fiscal Year 2025, the agency said.
Critics blasted the state for not acting sooner to prevent passing on the cost to riders.
