On March 7, the Maplewood Township Committee submitted a resolution to the New Jersey Transit board of directors “to register the Township Committee’s opposition” to a proposed 15% fare increase.
See the full resolution below.
The resolution, passed by the governing body in February, states the TC’s opposition to a proposed 15% fare hike for NJ Transit trains and buses that would go into effect July 1.
The action by the TC is not an empty gesture, as the fare hike is not yet official; NJ Transit’s board of directors is scheduled to vote on the fare increase on April 10. NJ Transit has held a series of 10 public hearings across the state, soliciting feedback.
In addition to the 15% hike, the proposal would institute a 3% fare increase annually thereafter, end the discounted FlexPass ticket, and put a 30-day limit on tickets, which currently do not expire.
The Maplewood resolution does support alternative solutions, calling for “limiting the fare increase of intra-city bus trips which impact more riders of modest incomes” and also supporting Gov. Phil Murphy’s call for a Corporate Transit Fee to “establish a dedicated tax to fund public transit.”
Read the full resolution here:
TOWNSHIP OF MAPLEWOOD
RESOLUTION 89-24
RESOLUTION EXPRESSING THE MAPLEWOOD TOWNSHIP COMMITTEE’S OPPOSITION TO
THE PROPOSED NEW JERSEY TRANSIT FARE INCREASE
WHEREAS, on January 24, 2024, New Jersey Transit announced a proposed systemwide fare adjustment of 15 percent taking effect on July 1, 2024; and,
WHEREAS, the fare adjustment proposal also includes annual systemwide increases of 3%, effective July 1, 2025 and going into effect on July 1st of each subsequent year; and,
WHEREAS, New Jersey Transit is not providing any additional services with the fare increases nor is it improving train service which has degraded over the past year; and
WHEREAS, Maplewood is served by the New Jersey Transit’s Morris & Essex Rail Line and by the following New Jersey Transit Bus Routes: #25, #37, #70, #107 and #375; and
WHEREAS, the Maplewood Train Station is one of New Jersey Transit’s busiest rail stations with pre-COVID average weekday boardings of nearly 3,500 passengers; and,
WHEREAS, Maplewood bus and train commuters will be negatively impacted by the proposed increase of New Jersey Transit fares.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Township Committee of the Township of Maplewood, County of Essex, State of New Jersey that:
I. Opposes the 15% proposed fare increase and asks the New Jersey Transit Board of Directors to rescind this proposal;
II. Calls on New Jersey Transit to incorporate equity in its fare increase deliberations by limiting the fare increase of intra-city bus trips which impact more riders of modest incomes;
III. Asks Governor Phil Murphy and the New Jersey Legislature to establish a dedicated tax to fund public transit, such as the restoration of the corporate business surcharge.
I, Elizabeth J. Fritzen, Township Clerk of the Township of Maplewood, in the County of Essex and State of New Jersey, do hereby certify that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of a Resolution adopted by the Township Committee of the Township of Maplewood, County of Essex, State of New Jersey, at a regular meeting of said Committee held on February 6, 2024.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the Township of Maplewood in the County of Essex and State of New Jersey, on this 6th day of February, 2024.
