NJ Transit riders could face a 25 percent hike in their fares, and the agency is considering cuts to service proportionate to ridership declines in an effort to close a $300 million budget gap.

One-way commuter rail tickets would increase by about 25 percent, subject to rounding, according to a NJ Transit press release. Under the plan, a one-way train ticket from South Orange to New York Penn Station would increase from $5.50 to $6.75. The monthly pass would increase from $154 to $193, and off-peak round-trip tickets would increase from $9.25 to $13.50.

Rail tickets to Hoboken would increase from $4.25 to $5.25 one way. The monthly pass to Hoboken would increase from $125 to $156, and the off-peak round-trip fare would increase from $7.75 to $10.50.

The plan calls for most of the changes to take effect May 1, and NJ Transit expects to generate more than $140 million in revenue, according to the release.
 
On the service side, the agency set a goal of reducing service proportionate to ridership, which has declined systemwide by about 4 percent as a result of the economy and low fuel prices. In all, the agency proposes to eliminate 32 of 725 commuter trains, with at least two trains scheduled for elimination on each of the system's 11 lines.

The Morris & Essex line, which serves South Orange, would be reduced by seven trains on weekdays, four of them off-peak, as ridership to Hoboken has declined faster than to New York. Since fiscal year 2009, rail ridership to New York has declined about 3 percent, while ridership to Hoboken declined 13 percent, according to the press release.

Trains that will be cut from the Morris & Essex line:

• Weekday train 870 (5:27 a.m. departure from Hackettstown)
• Weekday train 873 (7:57 a.m. departure from Hoboken)
• Weekday train 813 (6:40 p.m. departure from Hoboken)
• Weekday train 323 (11:20 a.m. departure from Hoboken)
• Weekday train 348 (3:06 p.m. departure from Summit)
• Weekday train 465 (5:06 p.m. departure from Hoboken)
• Weekday train 464 (6:43 p.m. departure from Murray Hill) 

Public hearings to discuss the fare hikes and service reductions are scheduled in 11 locations across the state from March 25-27. The nearest meeting for local residents is in Newark at NJ Transit headquarters (1 Penn Plaza East) on Thursday, March 25, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. There's also an information session scheduled on Friday, March 26, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan.

Visit www.njtransit.com/budget for more information.