If you were worried we were the only ones thinking about today's Metrocard increase you can stop (also, why would you think that?). Ever-popular Taiwanese animation outfit Next Media Animation is covering the story too. We would normally let this one go—these videos suffer from serious diminishing returns—but the fact that this particular clip not only calls out subway flasher Dan Hoyt (here with a large carrot) but also boasts a guest spot from WPIX's Greg Mocker as an angry commuter made it seem special enough to share. more ›

If you thought you could postpone the pain of the subway and bus fare hikes starting in January by stockpiling unlimited MetroCards at their current prices, the MTA knows what you're up to. To undermine your scheme, they're setting grace periods for each type of unlimited MetroCard, and when that grace expires, software at subway turnstiles and bus fareboxes will firmly reject you. Those dastardly Transit Authoritarians have thought of everything! Here's how it breaks down for MetroCards purchased before December 30th: more ›

Yellow cab fleet owners would like more money, please. They're asking for a 19% fare increase, on top of an increased base rate—meaning you would rack up a $3 bill before the vehicle was even put into drive. According to the Daily News, to put it in passenger terms, a 5-mile cab ride (which they describe as a trip to Times Square from the Financial District) would jump from $12 to $15. more ›

In preparation for this week's MTA board meetings being held to vote on fare hikes, the Authority has unveiled the May 2010 ridership figures. The report is over 140 pages long, but Second Avenue Sagas sifted through it and concludes: "After months of an economy-related decline in ridership, subway usage had finally started to creep up again. The service cuts, in other words, came at a very bad time." Ridership for the year has been approximately 1.2 percent above expected for the MTA. Which means more New Yorkers will soon be paying more for less. more ›

With the MTA facing a $400 million budget gap—even if it implements "Doomsday" service cuts and a 7.5 percent fare hike—Mayor Bloomberg warned straphangers yesterday that commuting will likely become more tedious, more expensive, or both. According to the Post, the Mayor said state legislators must "come up with some ways to fund the MTA, or the MTA is either going to have to raise rates dramatically or cut back service dramatically—or, what's more likely, some combination of the two," more ›

The sky is falling undergound! (And above ground, where the buses drive.) At an MTA finance committee this morning, officials announced that they're looking at a $1.2 billion budget deficit in 2009, which is $300 million more than what was projected in July. Chief executive Elliot Sander says the dire fiscal situation was caused by a sharp drop in revenue from real estate and corporate taxes. Sanders also said that because "the 2000-2004 capital program was essentially put on a credit card," the MTA is facing massive interest payments which are projected to rise to $2 billion by 2012. According to City Room, Sanders warned that "if the governor and the Legislature do not act within a certain period of time, in the spring, then the fare and toll increase and the service reductions will take place." In a statement, Governor Paterson reminded New Yorkers that a special commission will soon release a report on ways to manage the MTA's "dire fiscal situation." One option under consideration is to start charging tolls on the East River bridges. more ›

That mayor Bloomberg has an answer for everything. Cabbies want a fuel surcharge to help cover gas costs? Let them drive hybrids. The MTA is promising another fare increase? Let the smokers pay for it. Hizzoner said yesterday that the cost of subway and bus rides won’t have to go up much at all if the state collects taxes on cigarettes sold on Indian reservations. "That just alone would replace one of those fare increases," Bloomberg told reporters, insisting that the tobacco revenue could plug a $700 million hole in the MTA’s budget. more ›