NJ Transit Could Hike Fares by 15 Percent

New Jersey’s transit agency, NJ Transit, is proposing a 15 percent fare increase, a change riders and advocates say will put a strain on the most transit-dependent residents. “The proposed increase would raise the cost of a one zone bus fare from $1.60 to $1.80, a trip from Jersey City to the Port Authority bus terminal in New York would increase from $3.50 to $4, bus fare from Toms River to New York City would rise from $21.25 to $24.40, according to agency documents.”

Of concern is that low-income local bus riders would be hardest hit by this fare increase because it charges the poorest riders the full percentage of the increase. Past fare increases spared local bus riders from the full percentage of fare hikes in 2010 and 2015.

As Larry Higgs explains for NJ.com, the proposal would also raise the fare by 3 percent annually after the initial increase. “It also would end the discounted FlexPass ticket and put a 30-day limit on the life of tickets, which now don’t expire.”