Riders, Local Officials, and Advocates Tell NJ Transit to Stop 15% Fare Hike at Virtual “People’s Hearing”

For Immediate Release

March 27, 2024 – Dozens of transit riders, local elected officials, and community leaders called on NJ Transit to stop its double-digit fare hike proposal at a virtual “People’s Hearing” hosted by transit advocates on Wednesday.

The public hearing was organized by advocates and policy experts after NJ Transit did not provide a virtual option for members of the public to testify on the agency’s plan to raise fares by 15 percent this year and 3 percent every year after.

“Mass transit is a public service, and its budget should not be balanced on the backs of everyday riders, especially without them having a say,” said Alex Ambrose, moderator of the virtual hearing and Policy Analyst at New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP). “The in-person hearings hosted by NJ Transit were largely inaccessible to the public, and this virtual event gave riders a chance to have their voices heard and stand up against double-digit fare hikes.”

Advocates sent an open letter to NJ Transit CEO Kevin Corbett in early February asking for a virtual hearing option. The agency did not provide any virtual options for the public and moved forward with eight in-person hearings, mostly during business hours, instead.

Transit advocates and local elected officials have also called on NJ Transit to refrain from adopting the double-digit fare increase now that Governor Murphy has proposed what would be the first-ever dedicated source of state funding for the agency.

The People’s Virtual Hearing on NJ Transit Fare Hikes was co-hosted by the Fund NJ Transit and For The Many NJ coalitions and included testimony from riders, community leaders, elected officials, and advocates. Those who testified shared their experiences riding NJ Transit and warned that a 15 percent fare hike would put mass transit out of reach for everyday riders.

“The funds generated from the Corporate Transit Fee in Governor Murphy’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2025 will more than make up for the deficit that NJ Transit is facing today,” said Plainfield Mayor Adrian O. Mapp, President of the New Jersey Urban Mayors Association. “Instead of asking residents of New Jersey Urban Mayors Association (NJUMA) communities and other urban and urban-rural communities with larger concentrations of lower-income residents — disproportionately Black and Brown New Jerseyans — to reach deeper into their pockets to solve a problem they did not cause, we should take advantage of the opportunity we have to compel the most profitable corporations in our backyard to leverage their success by ensuring through the Corporate Transit Fee that NJ Transit, the backbone of our economy, is positioned to deliver quality, reliable, and safe service for people who rely every day on such service to put food on the table for themselves and their loved ones.”

“NJ Transit riders deserve to be heard, even if they don’t have the luxury of missing work or family dinner or are physically unable to get to a public hearing,” said Zoe Baldwin, Vice President of State Programs at Regional Plan Association. “A 15 percent jump in any household expense is tough, especially for local bus riders, and this is the last chance to weigh in since hearings aren’t required for the annual 3 percent increases from here on out. These fare hikes don’t include a vision for better service and don’t differentiate whether riders are taking the bus to their job at the grocery store or their corner office in Manhattan. New Jersey can do better for riders and needs to if we intend to live up to our promise of a cleaner, more equitable state.”

“It’s time to get all-aboard the fiscal responsibility train by fully bringing back the expired corporate business tax to fund NJ Transit. Corporations have enjoyed record profits, while working families struggle to make ends meet. Lawmakers must not continue to hand out billion-dollar tax cuts to wealthy corporations, while the rest of us foot the bill for higher costs,” said Eric Benson, Campaign Director for the For the Many NJ coalition. “In a state renowned for its spirit of fairness, it is only fitting that we call upon these corporations to fulfill their civic duty – to contribute their fair share to the systems upon which they rely. After all, maintaining the vitality of NJ Transit isn’t just a matter of convenience; it’s a testament to the values that define us as a community.”

“Raising fares by 15 percent and then 3 percent every year is an increase that some people might be able to afford, but not everyone,” said Talya Schwartz, Vice President of Hudson County Complete Streets. “In Hudson County, we rely on NJ Transit buses to get to school, work, health care, visit our families, and all other basic needs. The people who rely on NJ Transit are not getting a 15 percent raise in their salaries, they are barely making what they need to survive. We demand that the governor reject such a big increase in costs, and immediately introduce a 50 percent discount for low income riders and all students so that future increases don’t harm our most vulnerable riders.”

“This 15 percent fare hike isn’t just a number — it’s a barrier that will block access to transit for countless residents,” said Jaqi Cohen, Director of Climate and Equity Policy at the Tri-State Transportation Campaign. “Asking people to pay more for a problem they did not create is deeply unfair. For too long, NJ Transit has been scraping by, diverting funds meant to expand and modernize its service simply to keep it running.”

“The NJ Transit fare hike is regressive and will hit working class and poor families the hardest,” said Amy Wilson, a Jersey City activist. “In Jersey City, we have seen our access to public transportation get cut back remarkably over the last ten years; to then pile onto that a fare hike is insulting to riders who depend on the service to get to school, work, and other places. At a time when we need to have fewer cars on the road, this fare hike will de-incentivize ridership. While cities like Boston and Tucson are experimenting with making public transportation free, New Jersey once again lags behind.”

Watch a recording of the virtual hearing here.

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For The Many NJ is a statewide coalition of more than 40 organizations working to expand funding for essential services and improve budget practices to meet current and future needs, especially for communities that have been historically left behind.

The Fund NJ Transit coalition seeks to bring greater prosperity and better transportation to communities across New Jersey. We represent a convening of groups from across New Jersey’s advocacy spectrum to support legislative funding initiatives and to support transformation of NJ Transit into a modern, effective transit agency for the state’s one million and growing daily transit riders.