The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's proposed increases in PATH train fares and tolls at Hudson River and State Island crossings are a gross injustice to Hudson County residents.
Tolls would rise from $6 to $8, and the PATH fare would jump from $1.50 to $2.
The notion of paying $8 to drive through the Lincoln or Hudson tunnels - the two passages Hudson motorists most often use to reach Manhattan - is outrageous, especially at a time when Hudson County has no representation on the Port Authority's 12-member board of commissioners.
The toll and fare increases will be especially burdensome for individuals in lower income brackets, and it stands to reason that this will have chilling effect on already fragile regional economy.
If the Port Authority really considers itself to be a democratic organization with an appreciation for economic stability, it will forgo these burdensome increases.
Instead of spending its energy on plans to derive more money from a financially strained commuting public, the Port Authority should first address the absence of a Hudson voice among its commission membership. The bi-state agency really should embrace the core tenet that led to the founding of our very nation: no taxation without representation.
Sincerely,
Assemblyman Brian Stack
D-Union City
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