Cost of Dinky tickets

Why does it cost more to go from New York (or anywhere north of Princeton junction for that matter) to Princeton than Trenton?

JT: I believe it has something to do with the cost of the operation of the 2.8 mile Dinky itself...

Princeton has had the dubious distinction of having NJT's highest fares from NYP and NWK for many years now -
not counting the joint NJT/MNCR Port Jervis Line fares which are considered a separate operation in itself...

MACTRAXX

Port Jervis actually has cheaper passes but more expensive tickets. If one were to buy a pass to Port Jervis, would they be able to use it to go from NYP to Princeton? It would save about $25 a month.

On a per mile basis, Id wager the Dinky is the most expensive transit ticket in the country

The new station location is stupid as well. It should go to the library , parking deck area. They could easily squeeze another parking deck in palmer square. Even if the new station was on nassau st. It would have been an improvement.

jamesinclair wrote:On a per mile basis, Id wager the Dinky is the most expensive transit ticket in the country

The Dinky is $3.00, yet the New Canaan Branch (which is longer) is $2.75 for a local fare. And the entire Danbury Branch between Danbury and South Norwalk is only $3.25.

Steampowered wrote:The new station location is stupid as well. It should go to the library , parking deck area. They could easily squeeze another parking deck in palmer square. Even if the new station was on nassau st. It would have been an improvement.

Dinky should be a light rail train with tracks terminating in Palmer Square

I think that idea died a few years ago. I haven't heard boo about it in a long while.

I think the University decided some time ago that This Shall Not Happen. And so it came to pass that it did not happen.

Virginia Railway Express has the Dinky beat. Crystal City in Arlington, Virginia, to L'Enfant Plaza in Washington, DC, approximately 2 miles: one way, $6.75.

It's ironic that VRE's fares between Washington (zone 1) and Arlington and Alexandria (zone 2) keep going up, because it's one of the few places where VRE has empty seats to sell. A lot of commuters get off at Crystal City going north and board there going south. I myself have a zone 2 monthly ticket from Fredericksburg; if I have to go into Washington, I get off VRE and ride the Metro rather than buy a $6.75 one-way ticket to go at most 4 miles (if I go all the way to Union Station).

Yeah, I think VRE pretty much keeps the ticket cost high in that zone because they intentionally want passengers to utilize Metro overall. Considering that VRE is mostly a weekday peak-hour only service, it's probably understandable...

Literalman wrote:Virginia Railway Express has the Dinky beat. Crystal City in Arlington, Virginia, to L'Enfant Plaza in Washington, DC, approximately 2 miles: one way, $6.75.

MBTA has a similar issue between Zone 1a and 1. Outrageous fare difference.

Did they ever finalize if they are going to be moving the Dinky or not?
"The last I read Upcoming Court Arguments October 19 Spotlight NJ Transit’s Role in Dinky Move
Posted on October 7, 2015 by admin2
The fight to save the Dinky has always been about more than the station location. In two cases to be heard before NJ Appellate Division judges on October 19 in Mt. Holly we argue that NJ Transit is legally obligated to hold meaningful public hearings to show that transfer of valuable rail property to a private developer is in the best interests of NJ Transit riders. If we prevail, riders and taxpayers across the state will benefit.

One appeal (I/M/O Princeton Branch Railway Property Transfers to Princeton University, A-006009-12) challenges the last minute decision by NJ Transit’s Board in June 2013 to authorize a transfer of NJ Transit’s interest in the in-town Dinky station and surrounding land to Princeton University. We argue the decision was invalid because it......."

I've never actually rode the Dinky before... are there even any conductors on board?

Yes.