To NJ Transit officials, its riders are “the Chosen People.”
Chosen, that is, to plug any cash gap, which is now at $80 million.
According to Gov. Chris Christie’s budget, officials are now “evaluating a range of savings and revenue-generating options.”
Translation: Fare hikes and service cuts are on their way.
Watchdogs say the uptick in fares could be as much as 25 percent. This is in addition to millions of dollars’ worth of service rollbacks. Such a hit would follow increases of 22 percent, on average, in 2010.
What many Jersey commuters will find especially galling is that the fares would be rising far faster than their own wages. Indeed, overall inflation in the region has been mostly below 3 percent a year since the 2010 fare hike.
Service cuts will also set blood a-boiling. NJ Transit, after all, is already renowned for its shoddy service: insufficient trains, constant delays, etc. There’s little left to cut, short of asking riders to walk.
The slap at commuters is part of a pattern.
Officials, for example, never insist on givebacks from employees, nearly 10 percent of whom earn more than $100,000 a year. Nor have they reined in fringe benefits that cost 80 cents for every $1 in wages. The agency’s pension bill runs $80 million a year; health care for retirees — something few big private companies even offer today — comes in at $40 million.
Given the way they’re treated, riders might want to echo Tevye’s plea in “Fiddler on the Roof:” “I know, I know. We are your chosen people. But, once in a while, can’t you choose someone else?”