Port Authority may opt for lesser PATH fare hike

The Port Authority is considering scaling back proposed PATH fare hikes before it votes on a plan Friday that would raise tolls on Hudson River crossings, agency officials said Wednesday.

Under the plan, PATH fares would jump 50 cents to $2. But officials from the bi-state agency are having second thoughts, concerned that the increase would discourage people from using mass transit.

The proposal would have car drivers pay $2 more on Hudson River crossings during peak hours, from $6 to $8. Motorists would also pay $2 more for off-peak E-ZPass tolls on the bridges and tunnels. Peak hours are 6 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 7 p.m. on weekdays and noon to 8 p.m. on weekends.

Officials said the 50-cent PATH fare hike could bring in $25 million in additional revenue, depending on volume. The combined toll and fare hikes would produce an additional $300 million.

The hikes are considered key components of the Port Authority's 2008 budget and 10-year, $29.5 billion capital plan, which will pay $8.4 billion for rebuilding the World Trade Center site; $4 billion toward rehabilitating Port Authority bridges and tunnels; and $3.3 billion for modernizing the PATH system and increase its capacity by 25 percent.

In recent weeks, U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., pressured the Port Authority to reconsider the PATH fare hikes and encourage mass transit ridership since "oil prices just hit $100 a barrel, our planet is warming and our tunnels and bridges are jammed."

"From the beginning I have appealed to the Port Authority to reconsider the PATH fare hike, and if they do so, I would certainly welcome it," he said in a statement Wednesday. "My hopes are that the Port Authority either kills the hike altogether or significantly reduces it and pledges to invest any additional revenue right back into the PATH system."

The Corzine administration also hopes to review the proposed hikes "to make sure they have the right balance," said Lilo Stainton, a spokeswoman for the governor. Corzine has the power to veto the actions of commissioners from New Jersey.

Transportation advocates said they were "ecstatic" that the Port Authority is considering other options that would discourage people from driving into New York City. "We need to get people out of the single-occupancy-vehicle mentality and onto mass transit," said Zoe Baldwin, New Jersey coordinator for the Tri-State Transportation Campaign.

Source:RamblerNews