Bowing to pressure from the Daily News, NJTransit officials announced they’re slashing the Manhattan-only surcharge on trips between Penn Station and Newark Airport.
That means the cost of one-way tickets between the two stations will drop from $15 to $12.50, starting today.
For years, NJTransit had slapped Manhattanites heading to the airport with a surcharge, prompting a series of Daily News editorials ripping the injustice.
Since May 1, travelers heading to the airport from Penn Station had been paying $2.75 more than Jersey-based travelers in the same fare zone.
“This equalizes the access fee for New York riders,” NJTransit Executive Director James Weinstein said at Newark International Airport Station.
Riders traveling between Penn Station and Newark Airport are still going to pay 25cents more than New Jersey-based riders traveling in the same fare zone.
The drop in price, which will affect roughly 4,000 travelers daily, comes as part of a promotional campaign.
But Weinstein said the fare change could be made permanent.
“We’re taking away the penalty that was on 60% of the people coming to Newark Airport,” said Bill Baroni, deputy executive director of the Port Authority.
Yesterday, The News experienced firsthand the two-tiered pricing system.
Two reporters traveled from Penn Station to Newark Airport, with one buying a $15 fare to the airport and the other purchasing a $6.75 ticket to Elizabeth.
The Elizabeth-bound reporter hopped off the train at the airport station and purchased a $5.50 AirTrain ticket, reaching the same destination for just $12.25.
NJTransit riders embraced the pending fare decrease.
“I’m shocked they’re changing anything, actually,” said Noram Collins, 42, of Princeton, N.J. “Greed, greed, greed. That’s all it is. That’s all it’s ever been about.”
Robert Lorentzen, a marketing manager from Baltimore, said he had no clue abut the extra fee as he bought an overpriced ticket to Newark Airport.
“Who’s going to go out of their way to save three bucks in New York?”With Andrew Phillips
