Riders brace for transit fare hikes

By John Zucal, Managing Editor
Residents of Orange and East Orange will have to reach deeper into their pockets under fare increases which NJ Transit has proposed to offset a large budget gap.
NJ Transit officials announced Friday that the hikes would be the second part of a plan to close an estimated budget deficit of $300 million for 2011 and remainder of the 2010 fiscal years. The average increase for bus and train fares would be approximately 25 percent.
Part of the deficit, said the officials, came when Gov. Chris Christie pulled $33 million in subsidies for the remainder of the 2010 fiscal year. That decision came under the same executive order in which $475 million in school aid was returned to state coffers.
The officials also announced a series of 11 public hearings spread over a three-day period in late March. During those hearings, which will be scheduled during the evenings and on a Saturday, NJ Transit board members will receive public comments concerning the fare hikes and possible alternate ideas to decrease the increases. It will be NJ Transit’s first fare increase since 2007.
Under the proposal, riders of NJ Transit’s buses, many of whom come from Essex County’s urban municipalities of Orange, Irvington, Newark and East Orange, will encounter fare boosts, both in one-ride trips and monthly passes.
• One zone: one-way trips will go from $1.35 to $1.70; monthly passes from $49 to $61.
• Two zones: one-way trips will increase from $2.15 to $2.70; monthly passes will go from $65 to $82.
• Three zones: one-way trips will go from $2.65 to $3.30; monthly passes increase from $77 to $96.
Jim Weinstein, executive director for NJ Transit, said its officials worked to limit the impact on local residents.

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