Don’t try to pay the fare for NJ Transit rides this week — it’s free.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced that a one-week “fare holiday” will take place for NJ Transit commuters as a “Thank you” to customers who depend on public transportation — that unfortunately was plagued with continuous issues throughout the summer months.
NJ Transit rail riders frequently faced with downed wires which caused canceled or delayed train service. To top it all off, in the midst of the unreliable stretch of service, NJ Transit announced a 15 percent fare hike would go into effect.
However, earlier this month, Murphy announced the fare break — which will be a one-week stretch of waived fares across all modes of NJ Transit transportation.
The fare holiday runs from Aug. 26 through Sept. 2.
But there is a question that is plaguing some commuters: what if I already bought my monthly pass which covers travel through the end of the month?
Well, fear not!
Monthly pass holders who have already purchased an August pass will automatically receive a 25% discount on their September monthly pass purchase through the mobile app, at Ticket Vending Machines (TVMs), or ticket windows.
“Understanding that our commuters have faced many disruptions this summer, we are providing a one-week fare holiday for NJ TRANSIT riders,” Murphy said in a statement. “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. We also encourage New Jerseyans to take advantage of this opportunity, and we continue to be thankful to the many New Jerseyans who depend on public transit.”
Many of the recent service disruptions have occurred on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor. Murphy has met with both NJ Transit and Amtrak leadership to talk about improvements. While the root causes of these incidents have not yet been identified, short-term actions have already been taken including having NJ TRANSIT personnel increase equipment inspections on platforms. Additionally, Amtrak has increased inspecting and repairing their catenary (overhead wire), track signal systems, and substations along the Northeast Corridor line.
