By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
NJ Transit will eliminate the 655 bus that goes to University Medical Center and raise fares on its trains and buses by an average of 9 percent statewide, the transportation agency’s board of directors decided Wednesday.
The changes are part of a package of fare hikes and services cuts that NJ Transit had said in April was necessary in the face of rising employee costs and other expenses leading to a roughly $56 million budget gap. The changes are due to be phased in, with service cuts taking effect Sept.1 followed by fare increases Oct.1.
The board decision came as no surprise but was met with a mix of criticism and concern for the impact it will have on seniors and working-class commuters who will have to pay more to ride the train and bus.
“The decision to raise fares, though it was anticipated, is distressing,” Mayor Liz Lempert said by phone. “I think it’s bad for the state of New Jersey and bad for Princeton commuters.”
The head of the New Jersey Senate said fare hikes would hurt working class New Jerseyans.
“These are the same hard-working people who have seen their wages stagnate and economic opportunities denied, and now they are facing increased costs imposed on them for basic transportation,” state Sen. President Stephen M. Sweeney (D-3) said in a statement Wednesday.
West Windsor Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh said the cuts and hikes are “bad policy” that are at odds with getting people off the roads and using mass transit.
Along those lines, state Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-15) predicted more cars would be on the road. He said that unlike other countries and states, New Jersey is “doing less and less” in investing in mass transit and called that “not good public policy.”
Mayor Shing-Fu said his community is home to a large number of commuters who work in New York and Philadelphia. A roundtrip from the busy Princeton Junction train station to Penn Station will go from $29.50 to around $32.
He said the Junction is one of the most busy train stations in the state, with more than 7,000 daily rail riders.
“This one is all on Trenton politicians,” Assemblyman Jack M. Ciattarelli (R-16) said. “Our failure to address the transportation trust fund has enormous ripple effect, including NJ Transit fares. It’s sadly ironic that those who use mass transit are being penalized for our inability to properly fund the transportation trust fund.”
As for the 655 bus, Mayor Lempert said the town has been working on two options to provide residents alternate means of getting to the hospital in anticipation of the bus being eliminated due to lower ridership.
She said the town has been talking with Princeton University about the school adding a stop on one of its TigerTransit bus routes that already goes to the hospital. A decision is expected soon, with the added stop either on Nassau Street or at the school’s Merwick Stanworth housing.
TigerTransit is a free service that is open to anyone, not just for university students and staff. The school runs nine shuttles weekdays and one on Saturdays that goes to area stores.
Another avenue has involved talking with hospital officials about providing some sort of subsidized on demand taxi service for medical clinic patients, Mayor Lempert said. Eligibility still being worked out.
