March 25, 2009
MTA hikes MetroCard fare to $2.50 as of May 31
It’s official.
The full board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority this morning voted to cut service and raise single-use subway and bus fare to $2.50, up from the current $2 fare.
The new fare will take effect May 31. Board members said the only way to stave off the hike would be if lawmakers in the state capitol decide to provide more funds.
“We greatly regret circumstances require to act on the package of fare increases as substantial as they are but the law requires the MTA to operate on a self-sustaining basis. We simply will not be able to balance our budget without adopting these fare increases,” MTA Board Chairman H. Dale Hemmerdinger said before the vote, which was televised live on NY1.
Board member James Blair pointed out that MTA riders already contribute more on a percentage basis than any comparable system in the nation. “Our riders do more than their fair share,” he said.
The fare hike is not limited to the single-use cards (which allow one transfer if used within two hours of the initial swipe.) The price of a monthly MetroCard will rise to $103, from $81. Commuter fares on the Long Island Rail Road and Metro North will rise 20 to 30 percent. The W and Z subway lines will stop and 35 bus routes will be eliminated.
Staff will also be cut in some subway stations, which led MTA Board Member Andrew Albert to opine “Maybe we should change our motto: If you see something, don’t worry about it - there’s nobody left to tell.”
Fares will also rise at bridges and tunnels controlled by the MTA, such as the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, while there will continue to be free rides at river crossings controlled at the state level, such as the Brooklyn Bridge. The disparity already leads to heavier use of the free bridges. “I live in Downtown Brookyn, love the neighborhood, but in many ways we’ve become a doormat for people who do not want to pay the tolls at the Battery Tunnel,” board member Norman Brown said.
The deep cuts and fare hikes are blamed on the overall economic slowdown that’s left the MTA with a deepening deficit.
Picture credit: 14th Street subway station. Amy Langfield/NewYorkology.
March 25, 2009 11:50 AM in Transportology
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