(The following editorial appeared on the Home News Tribune website on April 20.)
NEPTUNE, N.J. — Daily users of NJ Transit services are less than thrilled with the increase in fares approved on Wednesday by the agency’s governing board. As a result, bus, rail, subway and train rates will increase by an average of 10 percent, or by as much as 20 percent in some cases. In real dollars, those percentages work out to $20 or $30 per month for some riders. That’s quite a hit, and it comes on the heels of an average 11.5 percent fare hike just two years ago, so it’s understandable why patrons are ticked.
If NJ Transit’s budget numbers are accurate, on the other hand, and there is no reason to believe they aren’t, the fare hike is entirely justified. According to the agency, there is a $60 million shortfall in its $1.5 billion budget. The fare hike scheduled for June 1 is designed to close that gap over 13 months, a winning plan, one by which the only thing transit board members can be accused of is a dose of fiscal responsibility heading forward. Deficit spending never works, especially not in the long run. Those who fail to pay as they go wind up in even bigger debt — witness the likes of the N.J. Legislature.
In further defense of the agency, NJ Transit riders — especially those long-timers — would do well to remember that this is only the third fare increase since 1990. Where else can users of public transportation say they’ve only been asked to pony up more for their service thrice in 17 years? Nowhere this page can think of.
Besides, NJ Transit must do everything within its power to keep its network current, from new service to keeping existing service healthy and running on time. All of that takes cash — a lot of it for the biggest statewide public transportation system in the nation.
There are other factors driving the fare increase to consider as well. NJ Transit has been bleeding red for several years because its expenses have soared, notably the cost of fuel. In that sense, the agency is no different from any other motorist; it has been hit by the same soaring gasoline and diesel prices brought about since Hurricane Katrina.
The big expense of heightened security in the post-9/11 era is part of the shortfall, too, as are expanded services: NJ Transit has added more trains to Manhattan and opened the Secaucus transfer station — marks against its bottom line, at least for now.
All of that conceded, this should be the last fare increase NJ Transit seeks for quite some time. By that we mean a period of at least four or five years. The agency mentions ridership is up sharply — 4.6 percent to be exact — and is expected to continue to grow at a robust annual rate. In other words, business is booming.
So should revenue at the new, higher prices — enough income for the transit agency well into the foreseeable future.