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Governor Spitzer's sudden Tuesday announcement that he would ask the MTA to keep the base subway and bus fare at $2 continues to draw skeptics of all kinds. Since the MTA just found an extra $220 million on their balance sheets, though additional revenues, real estate taxes, underspending and debt service costs, Spitzer said that the additional funds could be used to avert a base fare hike. Hurrah? Well, yes, but...
...the cost of unlimited Metrocards is likely to rise - the $220 million will only cover the approximate 15% of subway and bus riders who actually pay the base fare. The NY Post hammers home the point that Spitzer's decision to stop the 25-cent base fare hike - which would have come with unlimited Metrocard increases - may now mean even higher hikes for unlimited Metrocard, because the burden to keep the MTA's budget in line will be on the 85% of unlimited Metrocard purchasers. Apparently, the original fare hike would meant an approximate 4% unlimited Metrocard increase, but now the no-base-fare-hike could mean a 6% unlimited Metrocard increase. The Post also created this chart below:
The Straphangers' Campaign is also worried that the MTA will eliminate the 20% discount on pay-per-ride cards (like the $10 card that gives you 6 rides - an extra ride for free). The Straphangers' Gene Russianoff said, "I'd rather they do more to save the pay-per-ride bonus than the unlimited card rides because that is the most popular discount for lower income riders."
The Daily News, which had asked the MTA and Spitzer to "Halt the Hike," looks at accusations of whether Spitzer made the fare-stays-at-$2 announcement to stop a public approval ratings free fall. Naturally, Spitzer denied this.
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Has Spitz been committing political suicide lately or what! LOL.
You guys are working on Thanksgiving Day? Gothamist is just plain awesome. Unlike our Governor.
I just love how this screws over an overwhelming majority of the riders while Spitzer and others (like the Daily News) think keeping the base fare at $2 is some wonderful thing. It is like John F. Hyland's Five-Cent Fare League is still in operation. That was 90 years ago, yet many still think the same dynamic is in play both politically and financially.
If this nutty scheme goes through, whoever runs against Spitzer can run an ad that truthfully says, "Spitzer raised bus and subway fares for the majority of riders." It is like he is turning out to be the worst governor ever.
Here's a point of discussion: why is no one talking about how much of this (or any other) fare increase is going to pay for the salaries of transit workers, most of whom went on an illegal strike not so long ago?
The media should go to speak with Roger Toussaint or any other member of the TWU about how their base pay has made for the increased suffering of the riders. Why is it that we only hear from them when their contracts are up?
The governor gets more like the president every day.
Because, Not James Frey, the majority of money goes into keeping the 100 year old system running, not the salaries.
I swear, some of you fuckheads just refuse to get it.
Also, the main reason they went on strike in the first place was to keep control of their pensions THAT THEY PAY INTO EVERY TIME THEY GET PAID from being looted at the whims of the directors.
Horrible to want that, huh?
Is it really that unreasonable, considering inflation, for fares to go up?
And is it really that unreasonable for those already receving the cheapest rides to take more of the weight of an (ultimately inevitable) fare increase?