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Port Authority Jacks Up AirTrain Fares To $7.75
By
Stephen Nessen
Published Sep 26, 2019
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By
Stephen Nessen
Published Sep 26, 2019
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The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey approved a round of fare hikes on Thursday that will impact Hudson River crossings, taxi drop offs at airports, Air Trains and bridges.
“We go to every possible extreme to avoid fare and toll increases,” Executive Director of the Port Authority Rick Cotton said, after the board unanimously approved the increases. “But we must on the other hand support investment in our aging legacy facilities.
AirTrain fares at Newark and JFK airports will go up from the current price of $5 to $7.75, starting November 1, 2019.
Starting October 3rd, 2020, For Hire Vehicles (Uber, Lyft, etc.) will pay $2.50 to pick up and drop off at airports, while taxis will pay $1.25. The fee for taxis will go up to $1.75 on October 1, 2022.
Hudson River crossings tolls will increase with inflation, same for PATH fares.
Staten Island and New Jersey bridges will go up to $6.88 for users that cross more than three times a month.
Still, Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis said she had to fight the Port Authority to keep the discounted rate to three trips a month—it had wanted to raise it to ten, but backed down.
“They want to treat my constituents and people of New York and New Jersey like piggy banks, like their personal ATM machines, and so any increase is going to hit us hard,” Malliotakis told Gothamist / WNYC.
Cotton said only one-third of the Port Authority’s revenue comes from tolls and fares.
State Senator Loretta Weinberg worried the new tolls will mean NJ Transit buses will pay an extra $8 a trip, hurting that already fragile agency’s bottom line.
“NJ Transit is still recovering from years of mismanagement due to the prior administration and already faces a number of grave challenges. NJ Transit's health is of critical importance to maintaining trans-Hudson capacity,” Weinberg said, speaking at Thursday’s board meeting. “Raising toll on NJT to pay the Port is quite literally robbing Peter to pay Paul.”
Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey supported the hikes.
“Governor Murphy is pleased that the Port Authority Ten-Year Capital Plan Reassessment includes initiatives he has long advocated for such as the new AirTrain, improvements to PATH service, dedicated funding for a new Bus Terminal, and the redevelopment of Terminals 1 and 2 at Newark Airport,” the governor’s spokesman Matthew Saidel wrote in a statement.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office didn’t return emails for comment at the time of publishing. (Cuomo is scheduled to have a “fireside chat” with former NJ Governor Chris Christie at the Christie Institute for Public Policy at Seton Hall tonight.)
The funds generated from this increased revenue will be put toward Port Authority airports, repairing bridges, as well as the new bus terminal in Midtown.
At Thursday’s meeting the board voted to increase its 2017-2026 capital plan by $4.8 billion, to a total of $37 billion.
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Stephen Nessen
Stephen Nessen covers transportation. Since 2008 he has reported on everything from Occupy Wall Street, the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site, Hurricane Sandy, to Trump’s campaign for president. His transportation reporting has taken him everywhere from the MTA’s secret Rail Control Center to the gleaming subways of Seoul. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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