(The Asbury Park Press posted the following article on its website on July 2.)
NEWARK, N.J. — Nilda Ortiz couldn’t understand why the ticket machine at Newark Penn Station wanted $85 from her Friday morning for a monthly train ticket that used to cost $77.
The Linden woman was unaware that NJ Transit had raised fares on its rail and bus lines an average of 11.5 percent, effective Friday.
She wasn’t happy.
“It’s horrible,” she said before boarding a PATH train to her job with Merrill Lynch in Jersey City. “That’s a lot to go up in one shot. That’s a lot of money.”
It was a familiar refrain throughout the system as commuters for the second time in three years coughed up extra cash for their travels. The agency raised fares by 10 percent in 2002.
“I’m (ticked) off,” said Larry Smith of Hillside, who was on his way to his job with Warner Music in New York, and saw his monthly ticket rise from $110 to $135.
“I just had a baby last Thursday, so money is tight,” Smith said. “Now we need a baby sitter, and that’s $230 a week. Every cent is tight.”
He and other travelers said the higher fares wouldn’t be so hard to swallow if they noticed some extra benefit.
“The trains are so overcrowded,” he said. “They don’t have enough cars, and you have to do a lot of standing. We pay our taxes for this. It’s not fair.”
John Benson of Brick voiced many of the same complaints. He said his North Jersey Coast Line train is delayed about as often as it’s on time. Standing on the platform at the Point Pleasant Beach station waiting for a train to his job as a claims adjuster in Newark, he said his monthly ticket went from $210 to $235.
“There’s delays about every other day,” he said. “Why do they even have a schedule? They don’t follow it. It’s just an assortment of excuses.
“I wouldn’t mind paying it if the service were better,” Benson said. “But when you get the same old thing day in and day out for more money, it doesn’t seem fair.”
NJ Transit, which operates commuter trains and buses, and several light rail lines, had originally proposed an average increase of 15 percent to cover a $60.6 million shortfall in its $1.42 billion budget. It blamed rising fuel, security and health care costs.
“We know any time we ask for more in terms of fares, our customers are going to want and expect more from us,” said NJ Transit spokesman Ken Hitchner. “We plan on delivering.
“In the recent past, you’ve seen an increase in service throughout the system with the opening of the Secaucus Junction,” he said. “In the near future, we’re investing in more rail cars and buses. We know more is expected and we will deliver it.”