(The following story by Jim Walsh appeared on the Courier-Post website on March 1.)
CAMDEN, N.J. — At a public meeting here Wednesday, an NJ Transit official made a case for boosting bus and rail fares by nearly 10 percent.
But at a local bus stop, the agency’s riders offered a different view — with some warning the hike would hit too hard and others saying service must improve if fares go higher.
“It would be devastating because I’m on a fixed income,” said Wilson Siner, 47, of Haddon Township, who was interviewed at an NJ Transit stop at the Cherry Hill Mall.
“I don’t drive so I depend on it,” Siner said of mass transit. “It’s pretty convenient, but if fares go up, that’s not convenient.”
The increase is needed to fill a budget gap of $60 million, NJ Transit official Alan Maiman said at the public hearing. He noted state aid to the agency is expected to be flat, while costs are rising for essentials like fuel, labor, insurance and security.
“Fare increases are always an option of last resort,” said Maiman, NJ Transit’s acting chief for service, planning and development. The agency last raised fares in 2005, by 11.5 percent.
NJ Transit, with ridership at a record high, plans to buy 1,200 buses and almost 150 multi-level rail cars, Maiman said. He also cited proposed improvements, including projects in Newark and Trenton.
But Larry Geltzer, a bus rider from Sicklerville, said South Jersey isn’t sharing in the gains. “All these service improvements are in North Jersey,” he said.
Tony DeSantis of Collingswood, who heads the Delaware Valley Association of Rail Passengers, said the state should increase the tax on gasoline and diesel fuel. “I think (the proposed fare hike) puts an unfair burden on transit users,” he said.
At the Cherry Hill bus stop, Siner said a fare increase might cause him to cut back on some spending, such as restaurant meals. “I’d have to ask my friends for rides some of the time,” he predicted.
Will Medina, 34, of Camden, who commutes by bus, offered qualified support for the plan.
“I can understand with gas prices going up, 10 percent isn’t too much,” he said. “If it helps them to get the bus schedules on time and they can give better service, I would be for it.”
About 40 people attended the hearing in a Rutgers-Camden meeting room. NJ Transit will hold nine more hearings across the state through March 8, including one March 6 in Atlantic City.