An analysis by a commuter advocacy group says that NJ Transit rail riders pay the highest fares in the nation for the second straight year.



The New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers 2016 analysis found that, with the exception a one Long Island Rail Road fare zone, NJ Transit charges the most out of nine major commuter railroads surveyed.



NJ Transit officials disagree, producing their own analysis with examples that show the agency has lower fares for the same distances than the Long Island Rail Road or Metro North.



NJ Transit's Oct. 1 fare increase was factored in to the study, said Joe Versaggi, author and NJ-ARP Vice President.



"We are not getting any more value for the money," Versaggi said. "We have less bus and rail service that we had 10 years ago, and far higher fares."



NJ Transit cited 2014 revenue-per-passenger-mile data from the Federal Transit Administration, which says NJ Transit ranks fifth out of the nine rail systems in NJ-ARP's analysis.



"The NJ Association of Railroad Passengers analysis merely cherry picks an extremely small amount of data to fit a predetermined conclusion that NJ Transit's fares are the highest in the U.S.," said Nancy Snyder, an NJ transit spokeswoman.



While Versaggi conceded there are a few local fares where MTA riders pay more than NJ Transit, he said the FTA figures don't reflect what commuters actually pay.



"The techniques used on NJ-ARP's chart have been in effect as long as the chart as been produced," he said. "Other railroads change position, yet NJT is always at the top."



NJ-ARP's analysis compared monthly fares charged by the nation's largest commuter railroads for traveling comparable distances. Monthly fares were selected because they are the most common ticket purchased by commuters, Versaggi said.



How does that break down?



NJ Transit riders pay $451 for a monthly pass for a 48-mile trip between New York and Princeton Junction. An LIRR commuter pays $377 a month to travel 49 miles between Smithtown and Manhattan, the analysis found.

Metro North riders pay $407 a month for a 52-mile ride between Brewster, N.Y., and New York City. Commuters riding Connecticut DOT trains, run by MetroNorth, pay $366 a month for a 51-mile trip between Fairfield and New York.



The price to travel 27 miles between New York and Metuchen costs NJ Transit commuters $308 a month, compared to $287 for the same ride on the LIRR, between New York and Hicksville, NJ-ARP found.

Snyder, however, cited examples where NJ Transit was cheaper. At the 20-mile range from New York, NJ Transit 's monthly fare from Cranford is $254, compared to a $259 monthly fare from Metro North's Hastings station and Larchmont stations, she said.



"When we look at some cases of monthly fares from 20 miles or less (from New York), NJ Transit is not the most expensive, compared with Metro North-Hudson, Metro North-New Haven and LIRR," she said.



Snyder also cited one-way NJ Transit fares at a variety of stations ranging from five to 65 miles from the city, where NJ Transit isn't the most expensive ride. Those include a $16.75 fare for a 65 mile ride between New York and Point Pleasant, which she said is cheaper than the $21.75 for the same distance from New York to LIRR's Mastic-Shirley station.



NJ Transit charges $14.75 for a 35 mile trip to Aberdeen-Matawan station, while the same trip on Metro-North's Hudson line to Mount Kisco is $16.25, during rush hour.



However, NJ Transit riders pay full fare all the time, while other regional commuter railroads offer a discount for riding outside the commuter rush and for reverse commuters, Versaggi said.



"One way fares ignores the lack of off-peak fares on NJT, which are in effect on MTA railroads for 20 hours in either direction weekdays and all days weekends," he said.



NJ Transit eliminated off-peak fares in 2010.



Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

