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PATH riders, brace yourselves: your weekends are about to get better, but your wallet is about to get lighter.
Yesterday, the Port Authority revealed a huge proposal to overhaul the transit system’s service starting next year—along with a plan to inch fares upwards by 25 cents per year through 2029.
There is some good news in the proposal: for the first time in 25 years, PATH hopes to run every line, every day. Once the agency completes its multi-year PATH Forward rehabilitation program early next year—expect new tracks, upgraded switches and station refreshes—the system will start rolling out a whole new set of long-requested improvements. By next March, weekend service on the Journal Square-33 Street line will double in frequency and, by May, Hoboken riders will have dedicated weekend trains to the World Trade Center and 33 Street for the first time in more than 20 years. Friday nights will also be easier to travel, with trains running every 20 minutes rather than the current 40-minute gap.
On weekdays, Hoboken-WTC service will run every six minutes during morning rush hour and Newark-WTC will run every four minutes during peak hours by 2027, thanks in part to a beefed-up fleet and nine-car capacity expansion that was completed last year. Weekend service on Newark-WTC and Hoboken-WTC will also improve to every 10–15 minutes.
All of this is the result of rider feedback and a system ready to carry more people, more often. September 2025 was PATH’s second-busiest month since the pandemic and weekend ridership now exceeds 2019 levels, most days.
“Every decision we’ve made with PATH has been guided by one principle: putting our riders first,” said Port Authority executive director Rick Cotton in a statement. “The Port Authority has received an enormous amount of feedback. Customers told us where they want shorter waits, more options and better reliability across both weekdays and weekends. These proposed service increases are the direct result of that feedback and of years of focused investment in our infrastructure that will deliver a safer, faster and more comfortable experience.”
The catch (because there always is one) is that PATH vastly differs from most major U.S. transit systems in one big way: it receives no dedicated state or federal money to operate. Fares only cover about a quarter of each ride’s cost. To help pay for the new era of improved service (alongside the Port Authority’s sweeping capital plan), the agency wants to increase fares by a quarter beginning in summer 2026. Increases will then continue each January through 2029. The plan will also address fare evasion with new security tech and modern fare gates.
If approved, the next few years will completely change PATH’s identity: faster trains, fuller schedules and fewer delays—just at a slightly higher price. And if you’ve been begging for direct Hoboken service on weekends? Congratulations, you got it. It only took a quarter of a century and, soon, a few extra quarters.