Commuters across Eastern Monmouth County may be in for higher fares and decreased service on local rail and bus lines that could take effect as soon as May 1.

Faced with a $300 million budget deficit, NJ Transit has proposed a 25 percent fare increase on all public transportation across the state.

“What we’ve done is to try to provide service reductions that would minimize the impact to customers while enabling us to realize some cost savings,” NJ Transit spokesman Dan Stessel said last week. “We are committed to ensuring that this process is as transparent as possible.”

According to estimates, the proposed plan would generate $140 million in revenue to fill the agency’s budget gap for 2010-11, NJ Transit officials said.

The transit company’s board of directors will vote on the budget in April, and fare changes would take effect on May 1.

“There are three ways we are seeking to close the budget gap right now,” Stessel said. “The first is internal cuts, and that’s a combination of layoffs in addition to a hiring freeze that’s been in effect for about two years.”

In addition to service cuts, the company has reduced staff by approximately 200 employees and cut executive salaries by 5 percent, totaling approximately $30 million in savings.

“There’s been an executive staff pay cut, a salary freeze, administrative staff taking furloughs, and a reduction in 401K contributions,” Stessel said. “All those are put in our category of internal efficiencies or administrative cuts.

“Service reduction is another leg, and the proposed fare increase, the third part of it, is expected to generate $140 million, so a little bit less than half of the total.”

On the North Jersey Coast Line, approximately 1,000 commuters would be affected by the elimination of certain train runs. Weekday train 2306 (6:41 a.m. departure from Bay Head), weekday train 2309 (5:10 p.m. departure from Hoboken), weekday train 3517 (7:42 p.m. departure from New York) and weekday train 3518 (9:13 p.m. departure from South Amboy) would no longer be in service.

Stessel said these particular trains would be eliminated based on light ridership, but the company would leave customers with “other options” during that time period. In total, the agency proposes to eliminate 32 of 725 commuter trains across the state.

“There are certainly customers affected by these four trains that have other options, either before or after, that they can take advantage of,” he said. “That was sort of the strategy we were looking at when evaluating which specific trains to propose.”

Fares to New York Penn Station will rise on one-way, off-peak and monthly pass tickets on the North Jersey Coast Line if the budget passes, which serves the Raritan Bayshore, Eastern Monmouth and parts of Ocean County. Ticket prices are based on fare zones and are generally higher the farther away from Manhattan, Stessel explained. Under the proposal, a one-way fare from the Matawan-Aberdeen

Station to New York Penn Station will rise from $11 to $13.75. An off-peak round-trip ticket will rise from $18.75 to $27.50, almost a $9

increase. Monthly passes to New York will go up $77 from $309 to $386 a month.

In zone 16, a one-way fare from the Hazlet Station to New York Penn Station would rise from $11.25 to $14. An off-peak round-trip ticket will rise from $19.25 to $28. Monthly passes to New York will go up $80 from $320 to $400 a month.

A one-way fare from Middletown to New York Penn Station would rise from $11.50 to $14.25. An off-peak round-trip ticket will rise from $19.75 to $28.50. Monthly passes to New York will go up $82 from $326 to $408.

In zones 18 and 19, including Red Bank, Little Silver and Monmouth Park, a one-way fare will rise from $11.75 to $14.75. An off-peak round-trip ticket will rise from $20 to $29.50. Monthly passes will go up $83 from $331 to $414.

In zone 20, including Long Branch and Elberon, a one-way fare would rise from $12 to $15. An off-peak round-trip will rise from $20.50 to $30. Monthly passes to New York would go up $85 from $340 to $425.

The plan also calls for off-peak roundtrip discounts to be eliminated and 10-trip bus discounts to be capped at 15 percent off the full fare price. Parking rates may also be affected, Stessel said.

“Parking in our system is a little bit more complicated because in many cases NJ Transit isn’t the owner or the operator of the parking lot,” he said. “In many cases, it is the municipality, and on the North Jersey Coast Line, the parking is managed by the local municipalities, so I can’t guarantee parking rates won’t be changed because it’s not something we have control over.”

Officials are encouraging commuters to make their voices heard at a series of NJ Transit public hearings. A total of 11 sessions will be held March 25-27. Public comment will also be taken on the NJ Transit website.

“We will be collecting public comment before any decisions are made,” Stessel said. “Having gone through this process several times before, with fare increases in 2005 and 2007, I can tell you as a result of that public process, there have always been tweaks made to the final plan. There’s always something that comes out of the process that we weren’t aware of or that was brought to light as a result of public feedback and incorporated into the final plan.”

Shore residents can attend a public hearing on the NJ Transit proposals 5:30-8:30 p.m. Friday, March 26, at Long Branch Middle School, 350 Indiana Ave.

For more information, visit http://www.njtransit.com/.