The state Department of Transportation will not cut commuter rail and bus service and will replace proposed double-digit fare hikes with a series of more modest fare increase.
The department released the decision on Friday, following seven public hearings around the state this summer where rail and bus users spoke about the proposed fare increases.
“We held hearings around the state and listened carefully to our customers who consistently said that reductions in service would be an unfair hardship,” DOT Commissioner James Redeker said in a news release. “Furthermore, they made it clear that anything beyond a modest fare hike was unacceptable.”
Commuters on the New Haven Line and Shore Line East had faced a 16.4 percent hike. It was a 10 percent increase for bus riders.
Under the new plan, rail and bus fares will increase 4 percent at the beginning of each of the next three calendar years.
State officials said this is the first fare increase in seven years
