Students sound off on proposed NJ Transit fare increase

For commuters already reeling from the MTA's doomsday cuts, things have just gotten tougher. On Friday, New Jersey Transit proposed a series of service cuts and a fare increase as part of an effort to close its almost $300 million budget gap. Fares for trains and buses will increase by 25 percent if the plan is approved.

Here is how some students reacted.

CAS sophomore Yiting Xue:

"I bought a monthly unlimited pass because I live in Jersey City. Even with the increase, it's still cheaper than the MTA. But I am still going to buy the monthly unlimited because I have to. There is no alternative."

CAS junior Michelle Dugan:

"I only take NJ transit every once in a while, but I take the Long Island Railroad a lot and, in my experience, NJ transit is actually much cheaper and it's a much better service. It's cleaner and trains are on time."

CAS junior Meghan Weintrev:

"I take NJ transit probably once a month. I don't commute, but my parents live in New Jersey. To be honest, I mean, I have a job, but any increase is still terrible because they're already increasing MetroCards. It's just really annoying to spend so much on transit when I don't have to. I go home, but the money is still just extra costs that I don't like to spend. Because if I don't have the money to go on a certain week, I'm going to have to go on the weekends I get paid, which is also sort of inconvenient because then I can't go home whenever I want."

CAS senior Marshal Garbus:

"I take [NJ Transit] maybe once every couple months — whenever I go home. I think I have no choice: I just gotta bite the bullet and pay it. The current price is $10 to get home. It's manageable. I'm a senior too, so hopefully I won't have to take the train anymore."

Stern sophomore Jinesh Ramani:

"I don't take [NJ Transit] often enough to actually be majorly affected by it, but I think that the prices are already pretty outrageous. You can take a bus from here all the way down to Philly for $15, and you're paying $10 to $15 just to get to Princeton Junction from New York, so it's just a little bit ridiculous. Especially considering the kind of service you get. It's crowded often, trains are late a bunch of times, especially around the holidays when there are snow cancellations. To have fares hike in this kind of setting is not right."

Kirsten Chang is a staff writer.