Starting today, NJ Transit riders are getting a free week of rides on all modes of transportations.
The weeklong “transit fare holiday” continues through Sept. 2, the end of Labor Day weekend, with no tickets required for bus, trains, light rail and Access Link services, including Metro-North trains operated by NJ Transit.
“NJ Transit is committed to providing the high-quality service that you expect and deserve,” the service said on its webpage announcing the fare holiday, following a summer of catastrophic NJ Transit and Amtrak delays along the Northeast Corridor. “The fare holiday is a testament to our dedication to our customers.”
Commuters who already bought August monthly passes will automatically get 25% off their September passes through the NJ Transit app, vending machines or ticket booths.
The fare holiday does not include PATH or PATCO services. It also does not include the AirTrain at Newark Liberty International Airport. Vouchers for travel via third-parties in the Access Link Riders Choice program will still be required.
Parking fees remain in effect at NJ Transit facilities during the fare holiday as well.
In an announcement of the fare holiday earlier this month, Gov. Phil Murphy acknowledged “many disruptions this summer,” often due to heat-related equipment issues. Amtrak and NJ Transit said in a joint report earlier this month they’re still seeking the “root causes” of the disruptions on the corridor’s tracks, which Amtrak owns.
Many of the individual incidents have been attributed to collisions between drooping overhead train wires and power-drawing devices that sit atop NJ Transit’s trains, known as pantographs. Some of the summer’s many disruptions shut down all service in and out of Penn Station for hours during commutes in brutal heat.
NJ Transit and Amtrak have each at times blamed the other’s infrastructure. The two services have promised stepped-up inspections and better communication as they continue to investigate.
“As we work diligently with Amtrak to investigate and address the issues that have occurred this summer, especially on the Northeast Corridor, we hope this fare holiday offers our commuters some relief,” Murphy said in his statement earlier this month.
The fare holiday follows NJ Transit’s decision to hike fares 15% this summer as a way to shore up its budget, despite the objections of some commuters and lawmakers who said it wasn’t fare to charge customers more as service deteriorates.
New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer recently introduced legislation to guarantee NJ Transit and Amtrak riders refunds when they face disruptions. According to Gottheimer’s office, more than 650 NJ Transit trains were canceled in June alone.
The New Jersey Businesses and Industry Association said this month it opposes the fare holiday, coming shortly after legislators passed a corporate tax surcharge increase to shore up NJ Transit’s ailing finances. They said it disregarded the burden being shouldered by businesses because of the increased tax