On Wednesday night, New Jersey Transit officials were scheduled to enact an annual budget for the 2024 fiscal year, one that doesn’t rely on increased fares for bus or rail riders. But it appears that budget won’t address the longer-term fiscal challenges NJ Transit will soon be facing, according to its own projections.

The Murphy administration has warned that the agency is facing significant budget problems in coming fiscal years as ridership continues to lag pre-pandemic levels. And as federal pandemic aid begins to run dry, administration officials have not ruled out service changes or fare increases in the future.

A new state budget enacted late last month by Gov. Phil Murphy and lawmakers increased the annual subsidy for NJ Transit to $140 million. Although 40% higher than the prior year’s subsidy, the state aid for the 2024 fiscal year fell well below the $457.5 million that NJ Transit received out of the state budget as recently as fiscal 2019, according to budget documents.

According to ridership projections released earlier this year, NJ Transit could see operating deficits of about $119 million as early as fiscal 2025, which begins July 1, 2024. The next year deficits could go as high as $917 million.