Jersey City cuts Via hours and Saturday service, saving $4M

Picture this: It’s a Saturday afternoon, and you need to get to the grocery store a few miles away. You open the Via app, expecting a ride, but there’s nothing. No vans running. That’s the reality starting July 1.

Jersey City is cutting Via hours and eliminating Saturday service entirely. The announcement came this week from Mayor James Solomon, who says the changes will save the city nearly $4 million a year.

“Jersey City is facing a budget crisis that requires us to find savings everywhere, and forces us to make difficult choices,” Solomon said in a statement. “Reduced hours, no weekend service, and a higher base fare are prime examples of the types of choices we have to make to bring spending in line with revenue.”

Starting next month, Via will run from 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays only. That’s a shorter window than the current 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. schedule. Saturday service, which has been running since March 2021, is being canceled altogether.

The cost of a ride is also going up. A flat fare of $2.55 per trip will replace the previous pricing structure. And the city says the app will start rejecting rides that are “excessively long” and will force riders to use public transit when it’s a better fit for the trip.

How we got here

Jersey City has been wrestling with a massive budget deficit for months. In March, Gothamist reported the city was considering cutting Via altogether. Solomon has since canceled other big-ticket projects, like the Centre Pompidou museum, Liberty Science Center High School, and Via itself, to save around $55 million.

But here’s the twist: Via isn’t dead. Solomon said his administration reached an “agreement in principle” to keep it running, but with these cuts. He added that both the city and Via are pursuing outside funding to reduce costs and potentially restore some service down the line.

Via launched on February 25, 2020, under Mayor Steven Fulop. It won the 2022 Outstanding Program of the Year award from the Intelligent Transportation Society of New Jersey. At the time, the city and Via said 80 percent of their 2023 rides served minorities.

What this means for Jersey City residents

For many people who rely on Via, this is a real blow. Think about a night-shift worker who needs to get home after 7 p.m. Or a family planning a Saturday outing. Those windows are gone.

If you use Via to get to a second job on the weekends, you’ll need to find another option. If you’re someone who depends on it for errands in the evening, you’ll have to adjust your schedule. The city says it’s focusing resources “on the hours when people need the service,” but those hours are now tighter than they’ve been in years.

The fare increase also adds up. At $2.55 per ride, a round trip will cost $5.10. For regular users, that’s a noticeable bump. And the new policy of rejecting long trips means some riders might not be able to use Via at all for certain destinations.

Community voices and official statements

The announcement officially came from the mayor’s office, but you can bet residents are already talking. On social media and at community meetings, people are sharing their frustrations and concerns. Solomon acknowledged the difficulty of the decision, saying “difficult choices” are necessary.

Council members haven’t yet all weighed in publicly, but the issue is certain to come up at upcoming budget hearings. The city is also working on securing external funding, though no details have been shared yet.

What comes next

Here’s what to watch: The first budget hearing is set for Sunday, June 28, at 7 p.m. at the City Hall Annex. Then, on Wednesday, July 1, there’s a special council meeting to vote on the third-quarter tax bills, starting at 6 p.m. These meetings are open to the public, and residents can speak during public comment.

If you depend on Via, start thinking about alternatives now. Maybe it’s the bus, maybe it’s a neighbor, maybe it’s a bike. The cuts take effect July 1, so there’s not much time to adapt. But the conversation isn’t over — and your voice can still be heard.