By Sunayana Prabhu
MIDDLETOWN – Two River area commuters will have to contend with a statewide 15% New Jersey Transit (NJT) fare hike starting July 1, but Middletown residents have been offered some respite: a 15% reduction in train station parking fees to counteract the increase.
The NJT board unanimously approved the fare bump April 10, plus an additional indefinite 3% increase each year for buses and trains, making travel to New York from New Jersey a lot pricier.
“The decision by Governor Murphy and the NJ Transit Board to increase fares is not only ill-timed but demonstrates a profound disconnect with the daily realities of our residents,” Middletown Mayor Tony Perry said in a release dated April 15. “By increasing transit fares in these challenging times, the state continues to show a blatant disregard for the financial realities faced by everyday New Jerseyans.”
NJT last raised fares nine years ago in 2015. In January, the board announced the need for fare hikes to not only deal with an over 30% increase in inflation since 2015 but also a $119 million budget deficit the transportation authorities projected for fiscal year 2025.
In a release that month, officials revealed nearly $2 billion in revenue losses due to lower ridership across the state during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. “The COVID pandemic exacerbated the agency’s structural funding deficit that has existed since NJ TRANSIT was created more than 40 years ago,” the release read.
Beginning July 1, a one-way train ticket to New York Penn Station from Red Bank, Middletown, or Little Silver for one adult passenger will cost $18.40, up from $16. That could mean an approximately $1,200 increase for those commuting to New York City every weekday for work. For bus passengers traveling locally, each trip will cost $1.80 instead of $1.60.
Several elected officials have criticized NJT for the fare hike that stands to burden working families the most.
Changes in Middletown parking fees are slated to go into effect prior to the NJT’s fare increase and, while nothing has been drafted, other boroughs may try to follow suit.
Little Silver Mayor Bob Neff has been personally witnessing the impact of fare hikes on commuters. He said a family member who is a student is “feeling the 15% fare hike.”
The borough has parking fees that are “lower than our neighboring stations,” Neff said (Little Silver charges $3 a day for parking) and are “very competitive.” He said the borough collects enough in parking fees to maintain the lot, including striping the surface, and maintaining the curbs, sidewalks and lighting. “It’s not a profit center by any means for the borough,” he said, but noted the borough “may consider” measures that could offer a fee reduction to commuters in the future.
Red Bank is not in the position to do the same.
“Unfortunately, we have no control over the NJ Transit lots,” said Red Bank Mayor Billy Portman in a text response to the possibility of reducing parking fees at the borough’s train station. The Red Bank station lots are owned by NJT. However, Portman stated he was “not in favor of this 15% hike. There are better ways to increase revenue than on the backs of working people who depend on NJ Transit as their primary source of transportation.”
The Middletown Township Committee is expected to introduce an ordinance reducing parking fees at its April 22 meeting with a public hearing May 6.
Perry said it is “unacceptable” to expect the residents “to shoulder the cost of the state’s mismanagement and lack of foresight.” The township committee found it essential to implement these measures to offer “tangible relief” to the residents and “slash parking fees at the Middletown Train Station.”
In addition to implementing the parking fee reduction, Perry is calling for a review of the decision-making processes within NJ Transit and the governor’s office, advocating for more transparency and community-focused approaches.
“It’s time for NJ Transit and the Governor’s Office to realign their priorities with those of the public. We need solutions that support, not penalize, those who depend on public transportation the most,” he said.
The article originally appeared in the April 18 – April 24, 2024 print edition of The Two River Times.
