MIDDLETOWN — The Township Committee passed a resolution last week to reduce the cost of annual parking permits for the main train station lot by $75 for 2015.
According to Business Administrator Anthony Mercantante, the township renegotiated the fee with NJ Transit after being told to raise them by the transportation agency.
“We just simply lowered the fees from $450 to $375 because we felt that was too high when NJ Transit made us raise them,” Mercantante said.
He said this proved to be the case, because the number of issued permits dropped.
“So we felt if we lowered the fees that maybe we would get some more permits,” he said.
NJ Transit had ordered that permit fees for the lot, which is owned in part by Middletown Township, be raised to $450.
After seeing the decrease in purchases of parking permits, township officials met with representatives from NJ Transit to renegotiate the fees.
Lowering the fees is an attempt to offer commuters some relief and attract potential permit holders, Mercantante said.
“The lot’s capacity is about 1,000,” he said. “But, if you go there at any given time, that won’t be how many cars you see there.”
Township Attorney Brian Nelson said there were roughly 1,060 permit holders during the first six months of 2014. In the past, Middletown commonly sold nearly double the amount of permits, according to Mercantante.
“There was a time when we used to issue 2,000,” he said.
However, Mercantante did not attribute the decrease in permit holders to the fee hikes alone; he also cited the changing economic circumstances over the years.
“The economy was different back then,” he said. “Lower Manhattan was different.”
According to NJ Transit spokesperson Will Smith, permit prices often vary, and it is common for the agency to negotiate pricing with townships.
“NJ Transit is regularly engaged with officials in Middletown on ways to enhance the customer experience for their residents, including the parking facilities,” he said.
NJ Transit was still reviewing the township’s resolution to determine the potential future impact, he said.
UPDATE: This article originally stated that the reduction in cost was for the lots along Route 36. The reduction in cost is for the main train station lot.