New Jersey Transit riders are facing a 25% fare increase and service cuts on every train line and buses across the state, the agency said today. The agency is readying this proposal because Gov. Christie cut state support for NJ Transit by 11% this year and is expected to make more cuts next year.

These cuts will have devastating impacts on transit riders:

In a statement, the Tri-State Campaign pointed out that other options exist to deal with the state’s budget crisis. Increasing the state’s gas tax by $0.10 per gallon would cost the average household only $93 annually and raise $550 million in revenue. New Jersey has the third-lowest gas tax in the country and has not increased it since 1988. Gov. Christie has vowed not to raise it.

Specific details about new fares and service cuts are available on NJ Transit’s website.

Public Hearings

NJ Transit will hold 11 public hearings split between March 25, 26, and 27:

March 25: 5:30pm-8:30pm in Paterson, Newark, Trenton, Manalapan

March 26: 5:30pm-8:30pm in Secaucus, Camden, Morristown, Long Branch, New York City (“information session”)

March 27: 1pm-4pm in Hackensack and Atlantic City (“information sessions”)

For locations, see the NJ Transit press release.

Image: TSTC graphic using data from NJ Transit. (Assumes a nine-month school year.)