As states struggle through a period of high deficits, rail subsidies are a taking a hit at a time when we as a country should be investing in mass transit. We know how poorly the MTA is faring right now, and today, we hear word that another key player in the New York region’s network of transportation service is in dire need of funds. To close a $300 million budget gap, New Jersey Transit will be rising its fares and cutting services across the state.

According to published reports, the commuter rail-and-bus service will make an announcement later today of hikes and cuts across the state. Fares will be increased by an average of 25-30 percent. Bus wait times will be increased by approximately five to ten minutes, and a few rush hour trains will be slashed from the schedule. The agency hopes to restore these services when the state economy improves, but right now, New Jersey is $2.2 billion in the red. Earlier this week, the agency announced plans to fire 200 workers and roll back executive compensation and employee benefits packages.

“These are extremely painful steps, but unavoidable ones. We must close our serious budget shortfall, and we at NJ Transit must do our part by making this the leanest, most efficient agency possible, without compromising safety,” Executive Director James Weinstein said. “Unfortunately, fare and service changes will have to be a part of NJ Transit’s overall response to this financial crisis.” These cuts are, he noted, the deepest one-year cuts in the 31-year history of the organization.

As with so many transit agencies around the country, New Jersey Transit’s financial success is tied in closely with government support and fare policies. The agency officials say that 42 percent of their revenue comes from fares, and when state support drops away, as it has recently, those in charge have no option other than fare hikes and service cuts.

Where New Jersey fails though is in its equation of taxes and fees that support transit at the expense of driving. As Tom Davis explored at NJ.com, the state’s gas taxes are fourth lowest in the nation and have not increased “in two decades.” Considering that New Jersey Transit’s daily weekday ridership is at an all-time high and that the various services transport nearly 900,000 people per weekday, the state’s policy decisions seem out of whack to me.

Meanwhile, New Jersey residents who commute into the city are in for a double whammy. These New Jersey Transit hikes will go into effect in May, and the MTA will be implementing its cuts (and potentially considering a fare hike) throughout the summer. We should be investing in transit right now and expanding service offerings. Instead, the transit capital of the country is slashing service and raising fares. No one will benefit.

The new Meadowlands facility and a new NJ Transit station will sit in a verdant paradise of North Jersey.

The Yankees aren’t the only team in town getting a new stadium with a new commuter rail station attached to the project. Great news came today that the Giants’ and Jets’ new Meadowlands complex will finally, mercifully, be New Jersey Transit-accessible.

The new Meadowlands facility had its grand unveiling today. The various pictures of the 82,000-seat make it look like another state-of-the-art sports stadium for the New York metropolitan area, but do we at Second Ave. Sagas really care about the look of the stadium? Of course not. We want the juicy transit information.

The Times comes through in today’s article detailing the project:

Just outside the stadium is the location for a railway station — which connects the Meadowlands to the Pascack Valley Line of New Jersey Transit — that is expected to be completed in 2009. The addition of the rail station is similar to the plan to bring a Metro-North stop to the new Yankee Stadium.

Hallelujah! No more endless waits at the Lincoln Tunnel trying to get to New Jersey in time for kick-off. No more mad dashes through the stadium in an effort to beat the traffic back to New York.

For thousands of Jets and Giants fans who live in New York and points east, we are saved from our cars. We’re finally getting New Jersey Transit access to our football teams. When this station is completed, all of the city’s big sports arenas — the Meadowlands, Yankee Stadium, Shea Stadium, Madison Square Garden — will sit next to commuter rail stations. As Gary of Brooklyn Streets noted, some good will come out of a stadium plan. And that is great news for us rail fans.