The grim ramifications of Gov. Christie’s plan to slash NJ Transit funds are becoming clearer.  New NJ Transit executive director James Weinstein acknowledged that a 20-30% fare increase and a “4% service cut” could be on the way, speaking at an NJ Transit board meeting on Wednesday and at a hearing of the State Assembly Transportation Committee yesterday.

Testifying at both hearings, Tri-State Transportation Campaign New Jersey Advocate Zoe Baldwin pointed out that a 30% fare increase will mean that transit fares will have increased by about 75% since 2000. The state gas tax has not been increased since 1988. She called on the governor to restore transit funds so that “riders are not literally left out in the cold.”

At the Assembly hearing, Transportation Chair John Wisniewski was skeptical of the governor’s claim that NJ Transit was a haven for “patronage hiring” and asked Weinstein to clarify. Weinstein said he couldn’t “identify where the patronage jobs are at this point” but that the governor had ordered a review of the agency.

Beyond the current year’s budget cuts, Weinstein warned that NJ Transit was facing a $300 million deficit in fiscal year 2011. He said that NJ Transit would schedule public hearings on the fare hikes and service cuts next month in Camden, Atlantic City, Trenton, Newark, Secaucus, Paterson, Hackensack, Manalapan, and New York City.