New Jersey Transit trains and buses will be free for all riders for the week leading up to Labor Day in what is being called a “thank you” to customers who endured a summer filled with delays and disruptions, Gov. Phil Murphy announced Thursday.
The transit fare holiday will run from Aug. 26 to Sept. 2 and covers all services run by NJ Transit.
“It’s an acknowledgement and a thank you to the hundreds of thousands of commuters,” Murphy said on Fox 5′s morning show. “Given the lack of service, it’s the least we can do.”
Customers who already paid for a monthly pass for August will get a 25% discount for September passes sold through the mobile app, vending machines or ticket windows.
NJ Transit’s AccessLink service also is included in the fare holiday, said John Chartier, an agency spokesman.
But the feel good announcement came under fire from a state lawmaker and two state business groups whose members have been tapped to fund the state’s new Corporate Transit Fee to close a budget gap NJ Transit faced next year.
“This begs the question as to which is better, a fare holiday or keeping the money to address the financial woes of NJ Transit?,” said Tom Bracken, New Jersey Chamber of Commerce President and CEO. “We would have preferred the latter.
Murphy deflected a question that the fare holiday was a political move before the November primary, Murphy noted there are no state offices up for election in the fall.
“This has nothing to do with politics,” the governor said. ”It has to do with NJ Transit commuters who suffered mightily.”
Murphy didn’t say what the cost of the fare holiday would be or exactly how it would be funded on television. It will cost the agency $19 million and NJ Transit is “currently working to identify offsets” to fund it, Chartier said.
Murphy mentioned the Corporate Transit Fee that was included as part of the Fiscal Year 2025 budget as a dedicated funding source for NJ Transits operating budget. Fares fund 31% of that budget.
While it will avert a $766 million fiscal cliff NJ Transit was facing, that money won’t start flowing to NJ Transit until fiscal year 2026, which starts on July 1, 2025. However the fee on corporation was made retroactive to Jan. 1, 2024.
State Assemblywoman Nancy Munoz, R-Union, questioned why NJ Transit has to wait a year and a half to receive transit fee proceeds when the agency has existing problems that the money could be to fix.
“What irks me is they put a 15% fare increase on people’s backs, imposed the transit tax on the business community and they’re not using it for NJ Transit,” Munoz said in an interview. “My fare might be free but I’m still late for work.”
Munoz said she want the legislature to look in to what the corporate transit fee revenue is being used for.
“Let’s get these lines fixed,s o we don’t have delays,” she said.
New Jersey Business and Industry Association officials expressed similar concerns.
“We understand the affordability challenges facing NJ Transit riders with a 15% fare increase,”said Michele Siekerka, association CEO and President in a statement. “None of that money is committed to NJ Transit this year and many of the businesses footing the bill don’t have employees who use NJ Transit to start with.”
She said the announcement “sadly smacks of unfairness to New Jersey’s business community.”
“Providing this fare holiday on the heels of a massive corporate tax increase is a frustrating message and wholly disregards the latest hit our business community just took on competitiveness,” Siekerka said.
According to the legislation, the Corporate Transit Fee revenue collected this year will be part of the state surplus.
“The extra revenue is meant to address NJ Transit’s budget deficit,” Assemblyman Brian Bergen, R-Morris, said in a statement. He suggested NJ Transit leadership takes “a big pay cut” until the problems are fixed.
“Giving away a week of bad service is not the cause for celebration Murphy thinks it is,” he said.
This summer the busy Northeast Corridor line has been beset by delays through the summer, particularly during heat waves, leading to days of frustration for riders.
Murphy also mentioned a July 31 incident where a disabled train load of commuters was stuck in the Hudson River tunnels for three hours until they were rescued.
The Northeast Corridor is owned by Amtrak and leased for $100 million by NJ Transit.
Earlier this month, Amtrak officials announced the railroad was making $260 million in significant infrastructure improvements on the Northeast Corridor to improve reliability, safety and efficiency during the summer months, along with other ongoing work.
NJ Transits River Line light rail has also had major issues in recent weeks.
“We want to end the summer on a great note … beginning on Aug. 26 to Labor Day NJ Transit in all forms will be free of charge,” Murphy said. “You won’t have to pay one penny until the end of day, Labor Day.”
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Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X @CommutingLarry
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