In 2014, over 4,000 Rutgers University students signed a petition demanding a U-Pass—a universal transit pass allowing students to navigate the state without first calculating whether their NJ TRANSIT fare exceeded the cost of eating that week. We were told that the technology and the infrastructure simply didn't exist.

Twelve years later, that excuse has officially expired.

Governments spend billions building public transit without thinking about how to make it user-friendly. But occasionally, they get the technology perfectly right.

NJ Transit just launched a fantastic new tap-and-go payment system called FARE-PAY. So now we don't have to wait any longer for the necessary technology to create an affordable, universal transit pass.

By making a few simple updates to the stalled bill A2329 / S179, lawmakers can instantly modernize New Jersey’s transit network, boost the local economy, and create a new generation of lifelong transit riders.

We are asking the Legislature to take these three smart steps:

1. Create Lifelong Riders
   
   Businesses spend fortunes to win loyal customers. Giving a student or apprentice a universal transit pass teaches them how to travel the state by train and bus instead of rushing to buy a car. By allowing schools like Rutgers to buy "Universal Passes" in bulk for all their students, the cost per rider drops dramatically. This builds a habit of taking transit that will last a lifetime, long before the car industry can win them over.
   
   
2. Boost the Economy During Slower Hours
   
   Putting a student on a half-empty train on a Tuesday afternoon doesn't cost the transit system anything extra. The train is already running, the lights are on, and the driver is paid. Students usually travel during these "off-peak" times, on weekends and evenings. By giving them a universal pass, we aren't losing out on rush-hour fares. Instead, we're bringing a steady stream of customers to local New Jersey businesses and main streets when they need customers the most.
   
   
3. End the "Poverty Penalty" (And Don't Build a Separate Card)
   
   NJ TRANSIT inadvertently punishes people for being poor. A wealthier rider can buy a monthly pass upfront and save money. A rider living paycheck to paycheck has to buy one fare at a time, twice or more a day. By the end of the year, the person who can least afford it ends up paying the most.

The fix is simple. Use the tap-and-go FARE-PAY system we now already have. Lawmakers need to drop the plan to force NJ Transit to invent a brand new, separate "GO NJ Transit Card." Instead, let students and low-income riders use the exact same system as everyone else, with a built-in "cap" running in the background so they never pay more than the cost of a monthly pass. And importantly, we must still allow people to load these passes with cash—because a system that requires a bank card leaves our most vulnerable neighbors behind.

Our Proposal to Chairman Calabrese and the Legislature:

For years, this bill has been stuck in committee because it seemed too difficult or expensive.

It's time to see it for what it truly is: an easy win.

This doesn't require a massive new infrastructure project. We just need to take the great FARE-PAY technology that Chairman Calabrese and NJ Transit have already set up and turn it on for the people who need it most.

We urge Governor Sherrill, Speaker Coughlin, Assemblyman Calabrese, and the whole Legislature to update and pass bill A2329. Give yourselves a ribbon to cut. You have the opportunity to deliver a massive, historic win for working families just by flipping a single technological switch.

Let's not wait another 12 years to do something we can (and should) easily do today.

SIGNED,

Liam Blank
Rutgers Class of 2017
Author of the original 2014 U-Pass Petition
(On behalf of rational transit riders of New Jersey)