New Jersey commuters face a sharp fare increase this summer, after the New Jersey Transit board on Wednesday unanimously approved raising the cost of using the system. Train, bus and light rail fares are set to increase by up to 15% in July. Board members said the increase is unavoidable as the agency must deal with a roughly $1 billion shortfall in its budget in 2026.
“The alternative to filling that budget gap is cutting services. And I think cutting services really does a disservice to working families in New Jersey,” said NJ Transit board member Richard Maroko.
Critics of the fare increase assailed the policy as the wrong way to solve the agency’s deep fiscal problems, such as the lack of a dedicated funding source. “This fare hike, while presented as a partial solution to address the agency’s financial challenges, effectively places the greatest burden on those who depend on public transit the most,” said Jaqi Cohen, the Tri-State Transportation Campaign’s director of climate and equity policy.
