NJ Transit Losing Money At The Gate

TRENTON, NJ: Acknowledging that the number of uncollected train fares is on the rise, New Jersey Transit plans to put a stronger emphasis on ticket collection.

Agency officials said the problem is due, in part, to the growth in ridership since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, with conductors unable to move efficiently through crowded rush-hour trains. However, officials admit that fares have recently gone uncollected even on less crowded trains.

Jeffrey Warsh, the agency's executive director, said he does not have an estimate of how much money is being lost to the free rides.

"It's not to the tunes of ten of millions of dollars, but its a real issue for a system that depends on fare box collections for 50 percent of its income," Warsh told The Star-Ledger of Newark for Monday's editions.

NJ Transit, which collects $500 million per year in bus and train fares, is facing a $131 million budget gap next year. During rush hour, most passengers are commuters with prepaid monthly passes that provide the same revenue to the agency whether employees check them or not.

However, most off-peak riders use one-way tickets or 10-trip booklets. If those tickets go uncollected, passengers can keep riding the trains without buying a new ticket until a conductor eventually collects it.

"Passengers notice when tickets and passes are not collected or checked," William Knapp, NJ Transit's vice president for rail operations, noted in a recent letter sent to employees.

Unlike PATH trains, where riders pass through turnstiles before boarding, NJ Transit passengers board trains and hand their tickets to conductors during the trip.

Riders who board trains without tickets are charged the regular fare, plus a $3 penalty. That surcharge will rise to $5 on April 1, when a 10 percent fare increase goes into effect.

Dan Bogen, chairman of the train conductors' union, said the collection problems stem from poor management policies. "All my union members do the job to the best of their ability, but sometimes they just can't get through the trains," he said.

Knapp said the agency hopes to improve ticket collections with the addition of six new trains, designed to ease some overcrowding. He also said extra ticket collectors had been assigned to some trains.

"Clearly, there are logistical realities that make it impossible for us to attain 100 percent revenue collection," Warsh said.

Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

Article continues below

---

advertisement

---

Author: WPVI-6