NJ Transit resists fare hike

NJ transit continues to stick to its decision of not hiking the fares for three consecutive years, but the poorer customer-feedback could be a cause of concern for the authorities, say industrial analysts.

Last spring when NJ administration hiked NJ Transit fares, Executive Director Jim Weinstein uttered "short of the world coming to an end,” The transit admin assured that there will be no hike in fare for the next three years.

Previous year, NJ transit authorities hiked train and expressway fares by full 25 percent; and light railroad plus local bus by 10 percent. On Wednesday the authorities sanctioned a $1.9 billion budget and $1.2 billion capital expenditure program to restrict the hike in fares by every means.

Weinstein said "We met the challenges that we were facing then. We closed a $100 million budget gap by slashing our workforce, by reducing service and raising fares for our customers.”

Fares to remain intact for three years
During the meeting, he reinstated to stand by the prediction and not to repeat previous mistakes. Weinstein also emphasized that their agenda includes providing better customer services, full utilization of customer resources and efficiency maximization.

Maximizing the utilization of resources - by means of reducing operating expenses up to $200 million, and reducing workforce by 24 percent.

Poor customer feedback needs to be resolved
Customer satisfaction needs urgent attention as a recent feedback scored poorer marks in this area, specifically the rail and bus transportation. It is for the first time that NJ Transit has promulgated its customer feedback results.

Commenting on the average rating, Ralph Fucci, who has been commuting since 30 years, said, “The problem is that there are limited options for commuters. My only option is to drive from Hamilton. The most positive thing I can say about NJ Transit is that the trains are kept clean considering the volume."

On the other hand Weinstein and his team expects the feedback scores to get better in the forthcoming months, Weinstein also claimed it to be shameful if the team failed to improve the scores in due course of time.