Plus...when I was a student during the "token" era, if something was less than 3 miles away, I'd just walk to save the $$. Guess my health may benefit if this plan goes through!

I'm not so certain a limit of swipes on the monthly or weekly cards will raise them much money. I suspect many people would be like me, and monitor their usage more carefully, combining errands more efficiently and sometimes just not going somewhere. I am happy to pay higher taxes (MUCH higher) to live in New York on the basis that we receive greater services than lower taxed areas. When they start removing the services those taxes are paying for due to inefficiency, I get very hot under the collar.

greed. incompetence. stupidity. deceit.

I have plenty of complaints against the MTA, but honestly, cost is not one of them. The NYC subway system is compartively cheap compared to European systems, and it runs 24 hours a day, something few other systems do, and something that is expensive. Most people using unlimited cards spend less than $2 per ride, and the system charges a base fare, while many systems charge you per distance, another way in which the MTA is cheap. More importantly, the fact is that raising the base over and over hits the poor worse than anyone else. Most truly poor can't afford a monthly card at any one point, so they pay per ride. I think its messed up that someone making say $25,000 a year in NYC probably spends more on communiting in a month than someone making $70,000 (at $2.25 a ride minus the 15% you get free if you put more than $10 bucks a card, someone on a pay as you go would pay $84.15 for a single round trip to and from work, so if they happen to also do a single round trip on weekends, they already spent more than the $89 the 30 day unlimited card costs).

I say, drop the base fare back down to $2, get rid of the extra 15%, and raise the price of the umlimited cards to a point in whcih the people using that card are getting say only a 5-10% savings per ride, as opposed to the greater savings they currently get. Then, institute congestion pricing for downtown Manhattan (which would basically mean a toll on the East River crossings) and any other highly congested part of the City. Also, divorce the Commuter lines from the NYC transit system in terms of management, but consolidate a rate system, and include PATH and NJ Transit in that, so that in theory one could travel from the Hamptons or New Haven, CT, to Atlantic City on public transit without having to use three different rate paying cards or systems (ie, allow someone to buy a single ticket that gets them there).

BOYCOTT THE MTA!

Wow... let'make each single ride time limited... so if a commuter does not get our withn 30 minutes he'll have to swipe again to get our! Waaaaaaahahahahahaha! How ridiculous these guys are... it's surreal!!! A limited-Unlimited card must love it!

How about a NO MTA DAY 1 DAY of NO COMMUTING that will take place each month until the citizen of NYC are finally heard and respected!

This only reinforces my commitment to my current stand. I will not take the subway and will consider ALL transportation alternatives before even considering the subway: walking, biking, taking a cab, hitching a ride, driving my own car, renting a zipcar for a few hours, or a car for a few days depending what the task at hand will be!

I may or may not end up spending more money in some periods and not spending a dime in others (walking ad biking), what's most important is that at least will not get completely ripped-off by MTA. And in my small world as a single person I am trying to create a small impact! And if other will decide to do the same as much as they can, then we may represent at the end a force to be wrecked with that the MTA can no longer afford to ignore.

Listen MTA! How about getting business right for a change? Start by cutting the bleeding where it happens, remove unnecessary personnel at the administrative levels that does not know how to do their job? You suck so much money out od NYers and turists it's insane and criminal to say you ran out of money!!! How many new lines have been excavated and added since NYC subway system was created? Look at the state of the subway and DO NOT look at the midtown stations!!!

Look at all the stations... can you honestly say MTA that you are maintaining the tracks and the stations. You are ridiculous! There have been no improvements in the lines in decades... and getting new cars is not an improvement since YOU MATA needed them or they old ones would friggin fall apart and there you would have been faced with a huge class action suit! Just start taking care of business and stop being greedy... you know who you are! Only then we would maybe have a chance at getting a subway that can compare to those of much less rich cities across the globe like St. Peterburg, Kiev, Moscow, Paris, Stockholm, and many more! Just look at some at the links below and google for more if you like.

MetroArt

Some of the world's most beautiful subway station

What happen to us citizen of the USA? Why the lowering of standards? The subway system in NYC was something that got built back when US was growing up as a new country and now we can't even manage to maintain and clean it, let alone renovate and beautify it! What the heck it's going on?!

We haven't managed to put up public structures in quite a while... all we have we owe it the the past generations and what we are building is debt and more lack of services and infrastructure! Shame on all those who are stealing a dime for a greedy personal profit and removing it from what could be instead used for improvement of what's collapsing all around us.

Too much greed and carelessness! In today's world there will not be any more revolutions in defense of freedom or respect of individual/community rights. I guess we all deserve what we have then?

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FUCK YOU MTA!!!!!

FFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKK

YYYYYYYYYYOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!

OH HELL NO!

Bullshit.

These fucking cocksuckers should reduce their pay first.

One of the most mismanaged organizations ever.

D-bags.

The MTA needs to eliminate free health insurance and excessively generous pension plans for their workers. Why shouldn't they have to contribute to their own health insurance and retirement fund like every other working stiff? The average MTA worker earns $52,000 a year and most of the jobs don't require any college education. They get to retire at 55 while the rest of us have to work until at least 65, if not older. They make more and have better benefits that our police and firefighters, who is a travesty considering how difficult the action professions are compared to sitting in a booth underground answering questions from tourists.

Everyone talking about bridge tolls or congestion taxes is missing the point; too much $$ is being wasted, and just last year the govt raised tax and created new tax to prevent the threatened MTA doomsday. Now the MTA is back with its hand out. Those suggesting new tolls or congestion fares do nothing to change the corrupt culture, their only care seems to be that the $$ comes from someone else's pocket.

That 14th St FML sign is becoming increasingly appropriate.

This is infuriating. Once again the average NYer is forced to shoulder the burden of other people's incompetence.

What this city needs is organized outrage. An individual being annoyed does nothing, but unified ire is the only thing that will make a dent in this corruption and mismanagement.

"What this city needs is organized outrage. An individual being annoyed does nothing, but unified ire is the only thing that will make a dent in this corruption and mismanagement."

You are completely right. Remember a few years ago when the MTA went on strike in December? I thought people would rise up and get angry but they didn't. They should have at least got angry enough to demand that the MTA contract be changed to a spring or fall negotiation period as it once was.

No, unfortunately the MTA will continue their garbage until the users really revolt.

What BS... As a self-employed person in Manhattan I am already paying the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District Tax, which was supposed to bail them out, and now this?

put tolls on the f-ing bridges already. We do everything and anything to make sure drivers are comfortable and don't pay anything to use up oil and congest and pollute our city. If I am paying $2.50 to go under the bridge they can pay $2.50 to go friggin over it.

Time to privatize!! True financial accountability can only come with privatization. Of course that will mean an end to the 1 fare price for the entire system, but that's the breaks.

Raising fares and cutting service on non-peak hours is, from a business standpoint, quite efficient. Expect much, much more of the same if the system were ever privatized. We'd probably even see the end of the 24-hour subway system under privatization.

You don't think ending 24/7 service is being considered? I bet we see it in the next five years.

The nice thing about privatization is that the company can issue stock and there's nothing that makes a service better than angry stockholders.

Shareholders don't give a rat's ass about the quality of anything - they care about profit margins.

Cut shave and squeeze to optimize the profit margin; and if that fails, carve out the best pieces, sell them, and dump the carcass.