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Back in July, the MTA said that fare hikes would be likely for subways and buses (not to mention the LIRR, Metro-North and bridges and tunnels). Now the agency has announced two proposed solutions: A standard across-the-board increase and, more intriguingly, a two-tier system that would discount fares for rides during off-peak hours. Both plans would call for the base fare to be increased to $2.25, but some Metrocard users would only pay $1.50 per ride if riding during off-peak hours.
The NY Times has a graphic (left) that shows the differences between the two plans. (And hello, two-week unlimited Metrocard!) Why is the MTA proposing an off-peak option? As a way to encourage use of the trains during less busy hours, but the Post notes, "The discounts would come at the expense of the half of all riders who utilize unlimited-ride MetroCards, which would be hiked between 6.5 and 8 percent."
It's not clear what hours are considered peak and off-peak, but it's an interesting concept since fares seem to need to be hiked no matter what. The Straphangers Campaign was impressed that the MTA thought "out-of-the-box" with the off-peak idea, said, "Both options are too high. If the state and city kicked in a modest amount of money, the fare hikes would only need to be a dime."
And two fun facts from the Post's article: 1) The MTA's Metrocard discounts, whether for unlimited weekly or monthly cards, or the "free 6th ride if you buy 5" have been so popular that only 15% of riders pay the full $2 fare. 2) The Metrocard vending machines can allow work with increases of 25 cents.
The MTA will vote on the fare hikes in December. The agency says the public will be involved in the various discussions - those meetings will be fun!
Photograph by Triborough on Flickr
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"The Metrocard vending machines can allow work with increases of 25 cents."
That's insane. That seems like a programming error or something that could be fixed by reprogramming the machines to take smaller increments.
Why does the fare have to increase? Didn't the city just get a bunch of money from the Feds for congestion pricing? Can't some of the money for that project be allocated to keep subway fares down since cheaper subway rides will give some an incentive to leave their cars at home?
I don't care how much fare costs. Just get the damn stations sanitary and safe.
Why not keep the fare at 2 dollars and eliminate unlimited and the buy 5 rides get one free option?
The subway is now going to follow suit with what LIRR and Metro-North do - put a penalty on you for traveling during the peak periods.
The folks over at the MTA think most of us are able to make a schedule where we don't have to work or go to school during the peak hour.
If this was the case everyone would have weird hours to work with.
I think the price of the unlimited passes should be kept to a minimum, which benefits the people who live in the city and ride every day.
With the peak/off-peak plan, the unlimited ride cards are higher, while people who are just visiting, buying per-ride cards, get to enjoy the off-peak discounts.
ah, just what we need, another excuse for people to not take mass transit.
I typically buy 30-day unlimited cards, so I would be in the group that doesn't get a bonus for riding at off-peak times.
I think a better solution would to increase capacity by building a Bus rapid Transit (like Bogota) where the bus is essentially a rubber-wheeled train at grade, that has a dedicated path that cars cannot invade.
The off-peak/peak structure does not encourage ridership on out-bound (away from Manhattan) trains at rush hour. If MTA is going to insist on punishing people for riding at peak times, it should at least not punish people who ride at peak times but to a less popular destination. For example if somebody lived in DUMBO and worked in Midwood - they may travel at peak times, but the B/Q trains going to Midwood tend to be not crowded.
I also think that perhaps the MTA should consider lowering the fares on LIRR. In places like Queens where it duplicates the subway, a lower fare would suck some people off the subway and onto the LIRR. We know from the experience of the transit strike that the LIRR can run more trains and increase its capacity.
Wow, congestion pricing for...mass transit! I think it would be more effective to require or provide some incentive for employers to stagger work hours. We're just the lowly workers! (That would also help cut down on peak demand on the power system, at least for early and late in the workday.)
why can't the city implement a mandatory fee for any person traveling by car or truck into the city? The money earned on those fee's could easily curb this "penalty" for peak travellers.
Who is coming up with these ideas? Surely it's not Bloomberg, he has much better private funding ideas.
I say allow the corporations to start naming stations. The MTA could make a stipulation in the contract and have them clean and fix up the stations on their own, saving the MTA billions over a 10-20 year period_if they fail to do it, fine them... do not "fine" the very people who keep the MTA moving forward.
The whole situation sucks!! No easy answers.
Maybe they should freeze any raises for the MTA employees for a year or two to see if that helps. I am sure that it would go over like a lead balloon.
And you are right, it does not promote rider ship for mass transit. What happened to Green NYC and promoting mass transit as a viable, cheap, clean way to get around town? Right hand gives and the left hand takes! Business as usual in NYC!!
NYC is getting ridiculously expensive...Crime is going up...Services are being cut...
Time to move.
Who the hell still pays per ride? Really, I want to know. If you don't buy a 30-day - or even a 7-day pass and you use the subway daily, you're either an idiot or a tourist. (Of course, these go hand-in-hand.)
The biggest slap-in-the-face of the peak/off-peak structure is that it penalizes New Yorkers who buy passes and benefits visitors who pay by the ride. Shouldn't it be the other way around? We're the ones who make this city run every day.
On top of it, people who are forced to work during the day will pay $82 for a monthly pass to commute to/from work every day. People who work the 2nd or 3rd shift five days a week will only pay $60 to commute to/from work. I'd love to work overnight if my employer let me! Should I bill my employer for that other $22?
Well, I certainly never use the subway during peak hours. I work at home!
"...it penalizes New Yorkers who buy passes and benefits visitors who pay by the ride. Shouldn't it be the other way around? We're the ones who make this city run every day."
I interpret this differently. It benefits those who cannot afford to buy the monthly pass. I like that those with lower income can finally get a break. An additional $3-6 per month honestly won't affect my life much, and I'm still barely breaking even income-wise each month.
#14: It benefits those who cannot afford to buy the monthly pass. I like that those with lower income can finally get a break.
Those who cannot afford a monthly pass already get a 20% bonus. With the peak/off-peak plan, those bonuses will be eliminated, and anyone who can't afford a pass and has to travel during peak hours will now have to pay even more.
While the peak/off-peak thing isn't likely to persuade a ton of people to take the train outside of rush hour, it's a step in the right direction. Same notion of paying more for a scarce public resource, just like congestion pricing.
I still happen to think that the subway is a bargain at $2.25 a pop and if the extra funds help the MTA deal with their looming debt crisis then it's worth it.
"Who the hell still pays per ride? Really, I want to know."
Um...plenty of people? People working from home? Consultants? Small-business owners? Not all of us are 9-to-5-ers. I solely travel off-peak hours, so it's great for me!
Everyone stop your whining. According to the IBO, when we account for inflation, we pay less now than we did in 1994.
Why can't we do what I've been wanting to do - You show a NYS driver's license, you get to ride for free - you pay taxes - You're from Jersey, Utah, or some other fucking retarded state...$5 Let the fucking tourists pick up the slack.
edEx... is right? I wouldn't mind using "Macy's 34th Street Station" or "Whole Food's Union Square." Is this something that's been looked into?
The traditional plan fare increase is so much better for day-to-day commuters and so much less confusing.
peak off peak is ridiculous. what about a zone system like paris and london?
Everybody will complain but nobody will do anything about it. You vote with your money; if you don't like the fare increase, don't ride the train.
Who the hell still pays per ride?
People who can walk or bike to work?
edEx... is right? I wouldn't mind using "Macy's 34th Street Station" or "Whole Food's Union Square." Is this something that's been looked into?
I read about this a few years ago but there was a solid group of protesters who barked about it screwing up the "sanctity of New York" or some such nonsense. If Budweiser wants to buy a subway station and slather their ads all over it, I say more power to them.
I'd also imagine the union would not be thrilled.
But... color me shocked, SHOCKED, that they got their congestion pricing money to offset the fare hikes and then immediately propose fare hikes.