if you're a commuter with a gripe today was the day to let your voice be heard with the final two of four total public hearings wrapped up on New York City's proposed congestion pricing plan the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has listened to hundreds of voices from both New Jersey and New York in support and opposition to the new toll which is slated to start as early as June and charge drivers of passenger vehicles an extra 15 bucks trucks would pay as much as a $36 fee to enter Midtown Manhattan south of 60th Street it's money the MTA says it needs to keep the system running and a similar argument to the one being made by New Jersey Transit which is also staring down a fiscal cliff hoping to Stave it off at least partially through a proposed 15% Fair hike starting July 1st today kicked off the first two of 10 public hearings required by the agency as senior correspondent Brenda Flanagan reports commuter ERS had more than just price increases to complain about it is 11:00 a.m. and we'll begin the public hearings NJ Transit kicked off the first of 10 public hearings on proposed Fair hikes in a mostly empty conference room at the Cherry Hill public library where just 10 speakers stepped up to the mic over two hours a couple called out the agency for choosing a venue with scant public transit access instead of a Transportation Hub like the Walter ran Center in Camden especially this being the only fair Hearing in Camden County I just can't stress it enough how bad of a choice I think this is David Hamilton rides the river line from Camden to Trenton he says NJ transits refused writer requests to testify via Zoom like the MTA did for hearings on congestion pricing and Hamilton noted Camden offers several more accessible hearing sites you know there's Camden City Hall that's one place to hold it there's Ruckers campus and Camden there's lots of places they could have it but you know they they prioritize you know feeling safe about their cars instead of listening to the people that actually take transit to work every day um it seems like a really huge oversight an NJ Transit spokesman said Walter Rand had no room for a hearing and buses run within 3/4 of a mile of the library the agenda asked for a comment on the proposed 15% Farah hike this year and another 3% increase every year after that it had get NJ trans it through fiscal year 2025 but fairs alone won't fill the estimated $767 million budget hole predicted for 2026 these South Jersey Riders complained why pay more for bad service trips are canceled for mechanical issues crew or driver availability or other factors within or Beyond NJ Transit control but their frequency uh leave uh riders with the impression that NJ Transit it just doesn't care this always seems to be a problem with those trains at all of the time breaking down another speaker talked about Fair jumpers and violent fights on buses Liz Zamba pays 200 bucks a month for a bus pass I'm paying but at the same time I don't always feel safe on there um I don't I never see the plane closed officers I never see police in officer Clos um um in uniform NJ Transit plans eight more public hearings over the next four days many of them at Transit hubs and colleges no doubt more people will show up for those events what we can have is trying to balance the budget on the back of riders um and again fully recognizing the fiscal cliff that we're looking at Advocate Deborah Coyle says she supports Governor Murphy's newly proposed corporate Transit fee on major corporations to fix that problem the New Jersey the alliance for Action called for stable funding it's critical for the future of New Jersey Transit our commutes and our ability to get from here to there but many South Jersey businesses see little benefit in paying another tax with so little Transit service available here meanwhile NJ Transit still hasn't settled a contract dispute with its locomotive Engineers Union that's now in federal mediation do you anticipate there might be a strike I believe so yes I I do eventually yes but that's months down the road NJ Transit scheduled to vote on the proposed Fair hikes April 10th in Sherry Hill I'm Brenda Flanagan NJ Spotlight News NJ Spotlight News