Transit Cuts, Fare Hike Are as Severe as Expected

Photograph by phrenologist on Flickr

After much speculation and the local papers preparing commuters for what was to come, the MTA made their official budget proposal today and as expected, the cutbacks were dramatic. In addition to the slashing of the W and the Z lines among other cuts listed Tuesday, today's 2009 budget also included the following:

Increasing weekend wait times by 25% on most lines
Raising express bus fares from $5 to $7.50
Getting rid of the X27 and X28 express-bus lines as well as 25 overnight bus routes
Eliminating a total of 2,700 jobs
An additional 250+ job cuts on the LIRR and Metro-North
Slowing down the renovation of Grand Central Station and cutting back on its maintenance and cleaning
Reducing facility security and truck weight enforcement personnel on bridge and tunnel crossings
An even greater reliance on E-Z Pass Lanes over Cash ones
A 23 percent fare and toll increase proposal and alternate year fare and toll increases starting in 2011

While that last point does not specify what those increases will be, it authorizes the MTA staff to begin the public hearing process for potential fare/toll increases and service cuts.

MTA heads were delivered the news with their heads hanging low. MTA Chairman Dale Hemmedinger said, "We can either cut service or we can raise fares. That’s all we can do. If we don’t balance the budget by the end of the year, we could all go to jail.” And MTA Executive Director Elliot Sander who again called the cuts "draconian" added, "They will be painful and no one at the MTA is eager to implement them...It powers our economy and we cannot allow the system to move backward at this critical moment." They both pleaded for more assistance from all levels of government.

(And to clarify the announcement from Tuesday of the "halving of the G" that was included in the cuts, the implementation of that specifically means that train will no longer run beyond Court Square in Queens.)

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Billy Parker in News on November 20, 2008 1:23 PM

Comments [rss]

ihateregistering

"We can either cut service or we can raise fares."

Aren't they doing both?

thelaststeelmile

As long as rent goes down, I can ride my bike and get anywhere in the city faster than the subway.

camarilla

Anybody want to teach me how to ride a bike?

peanut100

my blood is boiling. i live in bay ridge & nearly had a heart attack when i saw that the x27 was being eliminated.

calmed down when i realized it was only on wknds.

then i realized that they want to charge me $15!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! a DAY to ride a city bus?!!

if the N/R line didn't suck into infinity x 1000 maybe id ride the subway...the reason i stopped taking it was because of the panic attack inducing AM commutes.

im sorry but right now i HATE this city!!!

NannyState

The MTA could do a better job of explaining just how they are going into such a big deficit to begin with. Did they suddenly lose 2 million customers? No. Did the cost of employing some sweaty fat piece of sub-educable garbage to stand there behind greasy glass suddenly soar? No. They are a public entity. Either they are lying to us now or they've been lying all along.

Think2wice

@45

The subway was built by the city and leased to private companies for operation

It was designed by a committee, bankrolled by the city, but was built and operated by private companies mostly financed by August Belmont who would later incorporate the IRT which held the lease to operate the original line(s).

and they could never make any money.

The BMT made a profit and paid dividends to it's shareholders right to the end, in spite the five cent fare. After World War I, inflation made keeping the original 1904 five cent fare a detriment which contributed to the IRT's bankruptcy.

cucarachita

COMMUTER STRIKE!

cucarachita

Maybe it's time for a commuter strike. I mean, what if all New Yorkers refused to pay for the subway, and just jumped the styles by the thousands. They'd have to close their doors just because there wouldn't be time to arrest everyone.

And then they'd really make no money.

COMMUTER STRIKE!

cucarachita

@ #2, yeah, right, this is a ghost town.

And yep, #49, bikes, scooters, whatever. I bought me a nice xooter this summer. Easier to carry and store. Will be using it whenever possible.

Kevin Bracken

Anybody got a bike for sale?

ma bell

more government! give them more! let them run everything! make everything a publicly run entity! socialize it! bleh!

Outter Burrougher

Tracer, considering that everything that #40 said was the opposite of truth, I actually assumed it was satire.

Drewo, don't worry, once we have fewer agents in the stations or cops on the street, graffiti artists will once again have free reign over the stations.

drewo

Give NYC artists free reign to redecorate stations.

Automocar

#40: "The subway was built by investors interested in a long term return. Barely any maintenance was done for a half century because it was constructed to such a high level of quality."

This is just simply false. The subway was built by the city and leased to private companies for operation, and they could never make any money. They were all sold to the city in 1940.

EastRiver

Move to Jersey and pay for gas and make car payments.

The US spans and entire continent so there are a few more options than moving to New Jersey.

And they should do zone pricing. I might be more willing to take the subway a few stops if it were $1. I'll walk 15 blocks to get some exercise rather than drop $2 each way. I don't need a monthly pass since I walk to work.

pastaboy12

I'm tired of being angry about the MTA. they should seriously just Eat Shit and Die.

Vdiggs

Oh noes! Not the G! Like it ever runs past Court Sq anyways.

longacre

#38: They already signed an $800 million multiyear deal with some ad company, I suppose this budget takes that into account. They could do more, though.

Polemicist

The people are fault for this. If the subway was still privately operated, this never would have happened. Security would have always been good, and subway fares would have been decided by market conditions and ridership, not by the direction of city council fools looking for a vote.

The subway was built by investors interested in a long term return. Barely any maintenance was done for a half century because it was constructed to such a high level of quality.

Now, the game is up. Somebody has to pay. We can keep playing these games, but the fact is the people who use the subway should pay. Raise the fare to $5.00 a ride. Then we'll see some real progress.

Gouda

So now instead of waiting 45 minutes for a J train at night and on weekends, I can look forward to waiting an hour? An hour in the leaky pit that is the Canal platform, or worse the Bowery platform where chunks of the ceiling fall and waterfalls of greasy toxic water pour all winter?

Hey MTA, Fuck off.