Money Makes the World Go Around

I take it back.

I will forever be grateful to the convenience of the NJ Transit.

At this current moment, however, I'm feeling pretty antagonistic towards it.

As of May 1st, the NJ Transit is raising fares by 25 percent, to compensate for the revenue it has lost due to the recession (as there's a decreased number of people commuting—and traveling in general, I imagine).

I understand the need to raise prices, as most businesses and organizations are suffering, and need to find a way to stay afloat. However, I think there's a difference between a slight price inflation, and the extreme degree to which changes will be occurring by the following month.

Here's the problem: It has now become too expensive to take the train into New York—or anywhere on the Transit line, for that matter. In fact, unless you're commuting for work, it's (generally) cheaper to drive in and park in the City. It's significantly cheaper if you're traveling to a place other than New York, as the cost of parking isn't astronomical.

For most people who work in Manhattan, but live well outside of the city, driving is not a realistic method of getting to work. They depend on public transportation the way most people depend on their cars; it's a necessity. Forcing people to pony up so much more just so they can get to their job is a little unfair. Commuters don't really have an alternative, but here they are, essentially being punished for having to rely on state-run transportation.

A lot of families are struggling, and wages aren't increasing enough (if at all) to compensate for rising costs; this price hike just causes a lot of further stress and difficulty for people.

The Transit also eliminated round trip tickets, so passengers who previously paid a lesser price for say, a weekend trip to the City, can now prepare themselves to pay for two one-way tickets at the new (but not improved) price.

I long for the days of high school, when I could buy a round trip ticket to New York for $14.95.

Lest I sound like a big fat whiner, I should say that I wouldn't mind the inflated prices if consumers were benefitting from it in even the smallest way. Prices have marginally increased over the years, and I haven't really minded, because it resulted in some really nice things, most notably, the double-decker trains.

Furthermore, the Transit is decreasing the number of trains it runs everyday, as the trains that currently run aren't being filled to capacity. NJ Transit hopes that in running fewer trains, the ones that do run will get filled to the maximum. This particular change affects me less, as the trains they are eliminating are primarily those that run during rush hour.

However, I'm angered by thinking about it on principle. Rush hour on the NJ Transit is always chaotic. How is offering fewer choices to passengers going to help with anything, other than disgruntling already weary commuters? In running fewer trains, they might cut monetary costs overall, but at what cost to the corporation's customer satisfaction?