MTA Board Expected to Approve Fare Hike, Booth Closures

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It's likely that the MTA board will approve fare increases on monthly and weekly unlimited Metrocards (and impose limitations on the unlimited cards) when they meet next week. There's no doubt that the MTA will implement a 7.5 percent fare hike in January, the only question is how the pain will be spread around. According to NY1, most, if not all, of the options currently proposed will be approved by the board. These include:

Raising the monthly MetroCard from $89 to $99
Raising the weekly MetroCard from $27 to $29
Increasing single-ride paper subway tickets to $2.50
Max out a monthly "unlimited" card at 90 trips, and put a cap of 21 rides on weekly "unlimited" cards.
Charging a dollar for a new card when customers don’t refill old ones.
Close dozens of subway booths, costing more than 200 workers their jobs.

Explaining the proposed dollar fee for a new card, William Henderson of the MTA Citizens Advisory Committee says, "A new MetroCard, it’s not quite a dollar, but there is a cost there. There’s a cost in cleaning up when people just sort of toss the MetroCards on the floor after they're done with them. So we hate to see any increase in cost, but that‘s one that at least has a rationale behind it."

Paul Steely White of Transportation Alternatives thinks the state is hanging NYC commuters out to dry. "Last month, we had the deepest service cuts in a generation and now we're being asked to pay more as riders for our subways and buses," says White. "It's just not fair. It's not mass transit if the masses can't afford it. We need drivers to pay their fair share. Right now there’s too many free riders, on our East River bridges in particular, and by instituting some form of congestion pricing we can prevent this fare hike."

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

By John Del Signore in News on July 23, 2010 1:00 PM

Comments [rss]

whitecastlerock

They should also eliminate the bullshit MTA surcharge on taxis then. if people need to get somewhere and service is cut to the bone, they may need to take a taxi. Why redirect that money to this completely fucked up money pit? Where is that money going? I see taxis all over the streets-At ¢50 a clip per ride, there is revenue every single hour, every day without fail. Instead they cut reduce service and raise fares. Is the Mafia running the MTA?

disembodied cat head

limiting unlimited cards reaches an astonishing level of BS. leaving aside the fact that they are by definition unlimited, 90 rides isn't much when you consider that just going to/from work, school, etc eats up two rides per day. if they are insolent enough to keep calling them 'unlimited metrocards' while taking away the unlimited part they're setting a disturbing precedent that reeks of Orwell...

m015094

The MTA has to be the only organization that is overmanned and undermanned at the same time. The gross amount of overtime being paid goes to show that there is a lack of workers to staff certain positions without the use of overtime.

http://gothamist.com/2010/06/04/mta_salaries_like_239148_for_a_cond.php

At the same time, it is quite obvious that there are positions that are fluff. Where is the oversight and budget accountability. It seems that instead of combating worker excesses, the only solution used is to increase the fares.

Let's look at some specific excesses:

1. 137th ST on the #1: two workers in the booth on both sides of the track. Really? They don't do anything anyways. Eliminate these spots.

2. 168th ST #1 and A: A MTA employee in each elevator to press the up/down button. Really!?! This is a job??

I'm sure there are countless other useless jobs in the MTA.

LB

What the fuck are you talking about !!!! Don't you know those "Useless" jobs are held by people ? Do you have a family to support? Do you have bills to pay ? Think about what your saying prior to spewing it ! That guy in the elevator pushing those buttons may just be making ends meet with his "Useless" job . What are you implying that he should be laid off because you think his job is both redundant, and useless ? How selfish of you to say something like that !

m015094

Yes, as unfortunate as it might be, eliminating waste in the MTA will mean that people will lose their jobs. 1. Cry me a river. 2. Build a bridge. 3. Get over it.

LB

Done, Done , And Done . You mean fuck !

Art Vandelay

If congestion pricing had been passed, none of this would be happening. Politicians love it when people bash the MTA because it distracts from the fact that they consistently under-fund it or force it to close budget gaps with expensive borrowing. Now those chickens are coming home to roost, and the budget is being balanced with service cuts and fare hikes.

gothamguy

If we are being charged $1 per new card, does that mean that the monthly cards will be refillable now? If not, it is BS.

valeriob

They should price structure differently where;

$89 for 90 rides

$99 for unlimited monthly

$27 for 21 rides

$29 for unlimited weekly

And instead of charging for a new card, they should give an incentive to those who do re-use their cards.

jaycjay

I don't really understand why people keep calling these "limited unlimited cards." Why not call this what it is? The elimination of unlimited Metrocards.

1stephanie

I don't get a new card every month because I still remember the time my magnetic strip got a scratch on it and my card stopped working. I'm sure the booth-person at my station would help me out with that should that ever happen again... oh wait, there isn't a booth-worker there!

gerf

Every major city in the western world I have ever been to has a more reliable, cleaner, cheaper metro/subway system than nyc.

I would have no problem paying these increases if the system was great, but it is not. It's horrendous.

Ray

Not exactly. The MTA runs 24/7/365 and covers more than 10 million potential customers. Most urban centers in the US don't have any type of mass transit. Not only that, NYC's mass transit system still makes it relatively easy to get around. Ever ride NJ Transit? It can easily take you 4 hours to go 3 miles! Or how about BART in SF/Oakland? Miss one train and wait two hours for the next. BART in Boston? Sorry, limited weekend service and none on holidays. Not to mention the cost on those other systems far exceeds what you pay in NYC. Taking a bus/train combo in NJ to go from my home to the shore costs $13.75 - each way!

I'm no great fan of the MTA, but transport in NYC is still cheaper and more efficiant than anywhere else I've been.

angry_pickle

If by "efficient" you mean "it doesn't waste your time", you are mistaken. In Tokyo, people get angry when the train is just 1 minute off schedule. Every stop that I've been to had functioning escalators for people who don't want to or can't walk up the stairs. And every station has functioning electronic boards which display when the next trains are arriving.

fuboy

The funny thing is that you're explaining why this disaster is happening when defending the great(ish) service of the MTA.

It's cheap? Okay, that's actually a bad thing since the MTA can't support themselves. Also, looking at it from another angle - if it's so cheap, why are so many workers/laborers taking illegal buses down established MTA routes for a heavily discounted rate?

Also, 24/7/365 is not a good thing. That leaves no time for maintenance and allows union employees to exploit overtime rules to receive massive payouts. The Boston system (the MBTA, not BART) doesn't have the same maintenance problems, specifically because they shut down service at night and their workers don't have to dodge a train every 5 minutes. They're also not burdened by ludicrous pensions and overtime pay.

Also, the cost far exceeds New York? You're so wrong there it's actually funny. A unlimited monthly subway and Bus pass for Boston is $59. It sounds to me you're comparing subway prices (going 5 blocks to a destination) with commuter rail prices (going 40 miles).

Good try, though.

gerf

Ray,

I'm obviously talking about major cities. You don't compare a major city with public transport in new jersey suburbs.

Stevennnn

NJT, Metro-North and LIRR are railroads, much different than a subway. You cannot compare the two.

Gepap

That isn't true. The MTA is relative CHEAP compared to other systems, particularly given two facts:

1. The NYC subway is 24 hours, which is a very rare thing, and which makes operations more expensive

2. There is a single fare system, as opposed to fare areas, so a 2 hour subway trip from the tip of Manhattan to the Rockaways costs you the same as a trip from 34th street to 42nd street.

This site has some comparative prices of subway rides:

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/07/subway-fares-around-the-world.php

Nyctini11

and majority of the "employees" are ignorant asses, g-d forbid you ask a question and get anything less than an attitude, and we're paying their salary to be treated like sh!t