| Issue 182 | July 24, 1998 |
| Issue 182 | July 24, 1998 |
Officials from the MTA, the Port Authority and NJ Transit told reporters this week that discussions had begun toward regional adoption of the MTA's MetroCard fare collection system. Port Authority officials said it was possible that PATH train turnstiles could be outfitted to read MetroCards as well as the PATH fare card in use now. NJ Transit officials were less specific. NJ Transit train stations are not part of a closed system (tickets are collected on the trains rather than at stations) where a swipe card would be used. Nonetheless, there are a variety of transit-boosting options NJ Transit could use. One is to offer a combined monthly commuter train/Metrocard pass, at discounted prices, as do Metro-North and Long Island Railroads. NJ Transit buses could also be outfitted with MetroCard readers, and reportedly, the new Secaucus Transfer station will be turnstile-controlled.
The MetroCard is the most likely regional fare system because it is already in place, in use by the largest part of the region's transit network.
Transit advocates hailed the talk of an integrated fare system as good news, but hoped the discussions would turn to implementation plans before long. Highway toll agencies in NYC, upstate NY and at Hudson River crossings have already integrated EZ-Pass toll collection systems, and NJ's toll agencies will join them within a few years.
But officials at all of the agencies were guarded about the time-frame for a regional fare card. "This is a long way from something that would be instituted next week," an MTA spokesperson told the Star-Ledger on Thursday. An NJ Transit spokesperson told the Campaign that a seamless transit network was part of Governor Whitman's strategic transportation vision. When asked whether serious movement on the matter would take place in the next three years, before Governor Whitman is scheduled to leave office, the official declined to be specific.
Interagency fare collection would require a data-sharing system to track revenue and ridership, because a rider could pay for a fare card at a Transit Authority station but use it on PATH trips. The Port Authority, the MTA and the NY State Thruway Authority transfer large quantities of data on EZ-Pass transactions between themselves each day, because motorists who have opened an account with one agency often incur toll charges with the others. Transit advocates argue that the rail and bus network should be as integrated as the region's highway system.
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