July 24, 2008

Transit hikes real and proposed: MTA, Amtrak, taxis

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority hopes to raise fares on New York City subways and buses in July 2009 and again in early 2011, the New York Times reports.

In March of this year, the MTA raised prices for multi-ride MetroCards but kept the base per-ride fare at $2.

The proposed fare hike for 2009 would come up for a final vote on the MTA budget by December, according to the Times.

The MTA is far from the only transit agency looking to shore up its coffers.

Although they’ve been turned down once this year, NYC taxi drivers haven’t given up hope of securing a $1 per ride fuel surcharge, which would need the approval of the Taxi and Limousine Commission, reports NY1. Queens Councilman John Liu has taken up the drivers’ cause and a TLC commissioner told NY1 that they “continue to monitor the situation closely.”

Amtrak’s out in front when it comes to fare hikes. They’ve already raised ticket prices by 5 percent on a number of Northeast routes, the Observer reported.

Meanwhile, Amtrak said it is spending $2.1 million to advertise the rebranding of its Northeast Regional service (which it’s no longer calling Northeast Corridor Regional service.) The rebranding includes a new logo, refurbished Café cars with new menus, en-route cleaning of the cars, and refurbished business class seats.

Also, an Amtrak blogger points readers to Amtrak.com’s new route performance page.

Picture credit: Amy Langfield/NewYorkology.

July 24, 2008 7:46 AM in Arrivology, Transportology

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