U. Should Provide Cheaper NJ Transit Train Tickets

Because I love seeing Broadway shows so much, I find myself shelling out upwards of $16 for a NJ Transit ticket to New York City a couple of times a semester. Round trip that’s more than$30, or roughly $100 a semester after three trips. It adds up.

Though Princeton University does a great job offering many organized free or heavily subsidized trips into the city, it should provide subsidized tickets for students traveling to the city on their own as well. Given that Princeton is only about an hour away from the city, it’s a great resource that unfortunately many students often cannot take advantage of, partially because of costs. Subsidizing tickets would create a more equal opportunity across students of various socioeconomic backgrounds, which is only fair given that the University advertises itself as being close to the city to begin with. This policy would not only help students who want to venture into New York City to explore culture beyond the Orange Bubble but also assist travel for work-related activities, such as interviews with nonprofit organizations that cannot reimburse for such expenses.

At info sessions for high school students, the University proudly mentions as an attribute its proximity to New York City and the additional opportunities that creates, be it for work or social experiences. For me, that was a large part of why I chose Princeton. Being from outside Washington, DC and accustomed to city life, I was specifically looking for schools that had easy access to a city. Of course, students from more rural areas also might desire to have opportunities to enjoy an urban environment. I wanted to have those activities at hand, but I also wanted to be at a school with its own campus, separate from the city, where student life was centered.

To me, Princeton was advertised that way — with an emphasis on how close and easy it was to travel to both Philadelphia and New York City, but that student life remained largely on campus. I’ve generally found all that true while here, except that it isn’t quite so easy to get to New York City, especially for low-income students, due to the cost. If Princeton is going to promote its proximity to urban life, the University should make sure everyone has an equal and fair opportunity to take advantage of its location.

Plus, let’s be honest: there is a limit to what we can experience within the Orange Bubble. Breaking out every so often is a great learning and maturing experience. Getting off campus can be an excellent mental health break, too. For me, seeing real people (outside the ages of 18-22) is a nice change of pace, as well as enjoying a show every so often, even beyond the residential college trips that do offer free transportation. Making it easier for students to take these trips by lowering the costs can only benefit students. Plus, subsidies equalize the playing field so all students can take advantage of the opportunity to get outside Princeton every so often regardless of economic situation.

Moreover, separate from these cultural jaunts, some students actually need to get into the city for work or internship-related trips. Many students from Princeton work over the summer or after graduation in New York. That usually requires interviews, sometimes in person, in New York City. While the investment banking firms and other for profit companies pay for the train travel, other companies, particularly in the not-for-profit world, do not, so students have to pay themselves. Students’ opportunities, such as the number and type of internships or jobs for which they accept interviews, should not be hindered because of the cost of a train ticket.

Offering such a discounted train fare program wouldn’t be anything out of the ordinary. Other schools in or near cities will often subsidize tickets. This is true from Duke University to Washington University in St. Louis. Sometimes even the transit organization itself offers reduced fares, such as in Boston. If NJ Transit wanted to offer that instead of Princeton, or if they teamed up to share the cost, that type of program would work as well. It’s simply a means to encourage students to get off campus and learn from the world around them.

I realize that some might suggest that making it easier to travel off campus will mean more and more students will actually go off campus, driving away student life with them. I doubt that would happen. New York City is far enough away and we have enough course work and activity on campus that, even with cheaper train tickets, most students would not constantly be off campus. Rather, it provides more of an opportunity for students to interview in-person in New York City and Philadelphia and simply be able to get outside the Bubble to explore a bit more of the world every so often.

Understandably, this is a sizable cost and perhaps isn’t the University’s top priority. But as the school develops its next 10-year plan, subsidizing train tickets on NJ Transit is at least something policy administrators should carefully consider.

Marni Morse is a politics major from Washington, DC She can be reached at mlmorse@princeton.edu.