MTA Looking to Raise Fares Once Again
A spokesperson for the MTA says the transit authority is planning to propose toll and transit fare hikes that would take effect next July, according to the Times. MTA tolls and fares increased just this March. The authority says it’s facing a substantial budget shortfall and must also grapple with rising fuel costs. Sources say…
A spokesperson for the MTA says the transit authority is planning to propose toll and transit fare hikes that would take effect next July, according to the Times. MTA tolls and fares increased just this March. The authority says it’s facing a substantial budget shortfall and must also grapple with rising fuel costs. Sources say the fare increase would likely be around $.25. We’re not fans of fare hikes, said Gene Russianoff, staff lawyer for the Straphangers Campaign, but my view about the hikes will turn largely on how much the city and the state will pony up to pay their fair share. One of the main reasons the MTA is short on cash is that taxes from real estate transactions have all but dried up for the authority this year.
So Soon? Fares and Tolls Rise in M.T.A. Plan [NY Times]
From 1948 until 1970 (22 years) the subway fare was 20 cents. 38 years later, it’s 10x that. Are subway conductors and bus drivers making 10x what they made in 1970? Does it cost 10x more to scoop a dead rat off the tracks?
I took my first subway ride in 1969. The only remarkable difference in service between then and now is air conditioning. And all the subways entrances used to be open.
bxgrl, FYI when you say “rebuilding the WTC is to build the tallest building in the world just to show we can.” lets be clear that practically no significant construction has happened at the WTC site despite this city being in the middle of the biggest real estate boom in decades.
There’s lots of corruption in this city. And the emptiness of the WTC site and the fact they can’t even build the 9/11 memorial on time speaks volumes.
MM- you’re talking about a city whose idea of rebuilding the WTC is to build the tallest building in the world just to show we can. Somewhere along the line we got the idea that only bigger is better, and that rich developers are owed whatever they want so they can build. I don’t think there is a plainer example of greed and cronyism than ratnerville. And where does it stop? Eminent domain is becoming a more common option in the city’s way of thinking. AY, CU and Willets Point- Sure there is public benefit to all of these projects- but how about the public benefit of keeping people in their homes and neighborhoods?
So isn’t it strange that the MTA practically made a gift of the FAR to Ratner ?
Why raise fares again? They are already charging riders more by offering oddball “bonuses” on cards.
Seriously, try this little experiment. Grab a pile of discarded MTA cards at any station. Swipe them or have them read by the MTA machine (which I find works better) and about half the cards I find have SOME amount of money on them. Whether it be a nickel, $1.50 or even more.
So the plus side is if you find these cards, you can have any MTA token booth clerk combine the values onto one card. But the negative is can you imagine how many $$$ in unclaimed or discarded fares are out there? Especially when you factor in tourists who have no investment in understanding fare structures and just discard or keep cards with fares as a “souvenir”.
The great thing about this is that when the current MTA is done, no one will be able to afford to ride the subway. Then, with ridership to almost nil they’ll have an easier time with upkeep. And they can re-instate their free subway cards to board members once the public spotlight dies down. It will be fantastic, but not for anyone who pays taxes in this city and commutes to work.
Check out what they did to the G train: they took away cars and decreased service so that, low and behold, ridership dropped. Now all they have to do to justify their neglect of the line is point to its low ridership numbers. Classic stuff here folks.
I can’t believe that the Straphangers Campaign is even slightly sympathetic to the MTA, it definitely lowers my impression of their organization.
Yeah, but think of all the nice service improvements that will come with another fare increase! By all means, raise the fare–in fact, just take my whole paycheck. I am looking forward to seeing the “every-so-often” schedule on the G train rise to “now-and-then”.
Perhaps if the powers that be in this city didn’t get all giddy at the thought of super mega projects – Ratnerville, Jet’s stadium, etc, the MTA could have actually been paid market rates for their sites and air rights, by those who offered to do so, and bid higher in the first place. This would have resulted in smaller, more manageable projects, which would be well on their way toward completion. The MTA would have more money in their coffers, and those sites would soon be generating tax and other revenues, including jobs. Hmmmmmm.
Of course, that still doesn’t address the mismanagement, cronyism, waste and ineptitude of the MTA, but that would at least delay the “need” for another fare hike for a while. What a mess.
Three words: Heads on pikes.
werner, by wrong, you mean poorly managed and shoddily run, right?