November 12, 2008
MetroCard fare increase, bridge tolls on the table
Local media is in a tizzy over the fact that not only might subway fare rise to $3 per ride, but tolls might finally come to the East River bridges to shore up the latest gaping hole in New York City transit coffers.
“Mother of all fare hikes looming” is how the Daily News puts it, with the related side-bar shocker more taxes, less service.
The $1.2 billion budget gap could lead to price spikes of 20- to 30-percent, according to the Post.
Also on the table, the possibility of adding tolls the currently-free East River crossings. The New York Times explains why those bridge tolls have long been the third-rail of NYC politics.
And almost on cue, Brooklyn Borough President issues an angry statement. “Three of the four un-tolled bridges—the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg—are in Brooklyn, and because some parts of our borough have limited or no access to mass transit, drivers, including those who use their vehicles for small businesses, have no choice but to use these spans,” he said in a statement. “Additionally, even with advances in E-ZPass technology, tolls will create even worse traffic backups for communities such as Downtown Brooklyn, Williamsburg, DUMBO, and the ‘Brownstone Belt’ of Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Brooklyn Heights and Boerum Hill, which already suffer.”
It’s all preliminary at this point. The next round of details will come November 20 when MTA’s executive director Elliot Sander addresses his transit board.
November 12, 2008 3:01 PM in Transportology
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