Governor to NJ Transit commuters: No fare hike in 2019

NJ Transit commuters won't get a fare increase in 2019, Gov. Phil Murphy told the agency's board on Wednesday morning, following his budget speech Tuesday where he promised to increase funding to the beleaguered mass transit system.

"We must earn back the trust of the riding public," he said. "There will be no fare hike in the coming year."

New Jersey's 2019 fiscal year begins July 1.

Murphy said the new funding would be used to hire essential personnel, including train masters, bus operators and technicians to help the agency install a critical safety system.

The governor also said others would be brought on to ensure the agency complies with federal rules and hires people who are qualified for their positions.

"This is where the rubber meets the road," Murphy said. "I want to know we're having an impact system wide."

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In his budget address, Murphy said NJ Transit was getting a $242 million increase, but the fine print shows a smaller number.

A less detailed budget summary made available Tuesday shows that on a year-over-year basis, Murphy proposes to increase the state subsidy from $141 million to $383 million.

Murphy needs to make up for a loss of more than $100 million in revenue from other sources, including $75 million in New Jersey Turnpike toll revenue that NJ Transit received last year, and more than $40 million in state and federal reimbursements.

That reduces the net increase to NJ Transit's budget to about $126 million, said Sen. Bob Gordon, D-Fair Lawn, the chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee.

"It’s really not $242 million in new money," Gordon said on Tuesday.

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Further, NJ Transit anticipates $28 million less in ticket revenue this year, partially due to declining ridership.

Factoring in the drop in ticket revenue leaves a $98 million increase, according to more detailed numbers provided by a legislative aide. That's about a 60 percent increase.

After speaking to NJ Transit's board on Wednesday, Murphy continued to press the higher number.

"We've looked at the history," he said. "This is an all-time high. The increase, as we see it, is really a triple."

Regardless of how the numbers break down, Executive Director Kevin Corbett said after the meeting adjourned that Murphy's plan gave the agency what it had asked for.

"We got what we needed," he said. "We have enough resources in this budget to make sure we deliver."

Testifying before lawmakers in January, NJ Transit's former executive director, Steven Santoro, said the agency needed an increase of roughly $80 million to avoid increasing fares. Murphy's budget gives the agency more than that and does not raise fares.

But the agency has suffered from years of underinvestment and has struggled to recruit qualified employees, from locomotive engineers and conductors to senior supervisors.

It also owes Amtrak more than $90 million for use of the Northeast Corridor for its operations into New York's Penn Station.

NJ Transit is the third largest mass transportation agency in the nation, carrying more than 900,000 passengers a day on its trains and buses.

The agency was once considered a model for mass transit, but after years of lackluster state funding, it struggles to fully fund its operations and capital improvement program.

In a bright spot for the long neglected agency, NJ Transit's rail operations hit their on-time performance goal in February for the first time in 18 months, according to the executive director's monthly report. Last month, NJ Transit trains were 95.1 percent on-time, which is defined as within six minutes of schedule. The goal is 94.7 percent.

NJ Transit's bus operations came closer to meeting their 93.5 percent goal in February than they had during any month in two years, according to the report, coming in at 95 percent. Bus operations tallied their worst on-time performance in December, at 85.7 percent.

Riders at the Clifton station were glad to hear NJ Transit would not hit their wallet for more money.

“It’s a relief that there’s no hike,” said Clifton resident Amit Desai, who has been commuting on NJ Transit for a decade. “I’m fairly satisfied. I don’t think it’s bad here compared to other lines.”

Waiting for the train in a car, Woodland Park resident Jennifer Loomis gave thumbs up about Murphy's promise to commuters.

“I really do approve of that,” said Loomis about the fare freeze. “I haven’t had any major problems here. The commute out of Penn Station when you watch the news seems to have problems frequently.”

Getting off a train, Clifton resident Dan hopes Murphy follows through with no fare hikes.

“If there’s not going to be any increase, that’s good,” said Dan, who declined to give his last name, about Murphy's proposal. “I like that idea just as long as he sticks to it.”