PATH fares are set to rise from $1 to $1.50 per trip on March 25, officials with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced recently. The increase in fares will be the first since 1987. Tolls at the bridges and tunnels will also be bumped up from $4 to $6 with discounts passed along to commuters that use E-Z Pass.
Officials say that the increased revenue will be used to invest $9 billion into the region’s transportation infrastructure over the next five years.
Some Hobokenites took the announcement in stride while others said that they thought the PATH worked just fine the way it operated now and that they would prefer to continue paying $1.
“Two dollars like they originally proposed would have been awful. But really when you think about it, $1.50 is just as bad. I think the PATH trains run well right now. I don’t like to have to wait a while late at night, but I’d rather wait than have to pay the extra $.50 every time.” – Kelly Smith, 32
“The PATH runs pretty smoothly right now. I guess I don’t like the increase. On the one hand it makes sense because when you compare it to other means of commuting like the subway in Manhattan [which is $1.50], it’s cheap. But that is no reason to increase it.” – Sibyle Nagele, 28
“I figure they highballed their first proposal so that $1.50 would not seem that bad. It cuts in a little bit [to my spending money]. I mean I take it 10 times a week. But what am I going to do? I’m not going to swim. I’d like to see them offer a discount for multiple uses or a monthly discount. And I also would like to see these improvements. I’m a little worried that I am going to be here in five years and look around and say, ‘What improvements?'” – John Kane, 28
“I don’t think it’s unreasonable. With the costs of electricity and everything else going up, it seems that the costs of operating the train would go up too. If you look at other forms of transportation we have been getting a pretty good deal for a while, and it’s still a good deal now.” – Bruce O’Neel, 31