(The Associated Press circulated the following story on April 18.)
NEWARK, N.J. — The board of New Jersey Transit was scheduled to vote Wednesday on a proposed fare hike of nearly 10 percent, with different increases for different rail and bus lines.
The fare increase, the first since July 2005, will be considered at a meeting of the agency’s board of directors.
The hike would begin on June 1 and close a budget deficit of about $60 million in the agency’s proposed $1.5 billion budget.
The third fare increase since 1990 would mean about 9.6 percent on a systemwide average to accommodate expanded services, meet increased rider demand and keep up with inflation, according to detailed numbers released in February.
NJ Transit received 2,155 comments about the proposed hike at 13 public hearings, via e-mail and regular mail, said Dan Stessel, a spokesman for the agency.
NJ Transit is the nation’s largest statewide public transportation system, providing nearly 857,000 weekday trips on bus routes, light rail and commuter rail lines. Systemwide ridership is up 4.6 percent so far in this fiscal year, the third year of record-high levels.