A Higher Ticket To Ride

New Jersey Transit's outgoing head, Executive Director George D. Warrington, is calling for a 10% hike in fares, which would take effect in June. Without the dedicated funding for mass transit, the fares have to continue rising to cover costs. It is projected that NJ Transit will face a $60 million shortfall this coming year.

So what does it mean for riders?

If you're going from Ridgewood to the Port Authority in Manhattan, the monthly fare will go from $133 to $146. The monthly pass for a NJ Transit train from Ridgewood to Hoboken will run $189 instead of the current $169. Daily, weekly, and 10 trip passes will also increase by 10%.

The increases aren't going to happen without a fight. As some point out, this is simply a tax hike by another name and reduces the state's ability to attract and retain businesses and residents who will flee to less costly climates.

Some transportation advocates blamed state officials for skirting tough decisions and passing the buck to mass-transit customers.

"Everyone is there for the ribbon-cutting, but no one is there when it's time to find money to make the projects run," said Damien Newton, New Jersey coordinator for the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, a watchdog group.

The state Republican Party also criticized the fare increase, calling it "nothing more than a tax hike by another name."

"This fare hike will make our economy even less competitive and take money from the pockets of people already struggling to get ahead," state GOP Chairman Tom Wilson said in a statement.

Anthony Coley, a spokesman for Corzine, said the governor "is not pleased with this news," but added that a fare increase appeared to be necessary.

Transit officials mostly blamed inflation for rising expenses.

NJ Transit also incurred new expenses when it acquired a fleet of multilevel train cars. The cars, which will appear this year, add $11.4 million in storage and maintenance costs. And the board is continuing to upgrade its equipment. In a separate vote Tuesday, board members approved the purchase of 1,145 buses for $410 million. Some of the first batch of 200 buses, which will contain closed-circuit cameras, will appear in North Jersey in 2008.

It is unclear how much fares might increase in Bergen and Passaic counties. Some fares could increase more than 10 percent, while others may jump by less or stay the same.

Some rail stations remain underutilized and the agency has not exactly been a good steward with its revenue and budget. One has to wonder whether it had even planned for the additional costs due to the multilevel trains, which are entering service on the NY Penn station service.

Upgrading equipment is not part of the operating budget, but rather the capital budget, which should be getting state support. There are no easy answers here, but we can definitely expect a fare hike in June.

It's the Trenton way after all.