Straphangers question MTA fare increase amid congestion pricing
NEW YORK (PIX11) – The MTA is hosting another public meeting on Wednesday for mass transit riders to weigh in on its newly proposed fare and toll hikes.
The first meeting was held on Tuesday, with public comments ranging from civil to scathing. Many straphangers questioned why such broad hikes are on the table with congestion pricing already raking in millions.
“Why are we spending $1 billion on preventing fare evasion when wealthy New Yorkers could easily cover the cost of the entire system? I’ll tell you why. It’s because those wealthy New Yorkers are sitting on this board,” student Jackson said to the MTA board at the meeting.
The board is considering boosting base bus and subway fares from $2.90 to $3. Reduced fares would rise to $1.50 and the 12-day fare cap would increase to $36.
Express bus fares would also go up to $7.25. Both monthly and weekly LIRR and Metro North tickets could rise 4.5%, and MTA bridges and tunnels’ tolls up to 7.5%.
The across-the-board hikes are now under review, even as the MTA projects congestion pricing is on track to meet its first-year goal of raising nearly $500 million.
“It needs this much money to maintain the system, improve the system, and also to do what our predecessors never did, which is to stop this 100-year-old system from falling down,” said MTA chairman and CEO Janno Lieber.
The first meeting on Wednesday starts at 10 a.m. and the second at 5 p.m. For more information on the meetings, click here.
The board is set to vote on the hikes this fall. If approved, they’ll be rolled out in January.
Erin Pflaumer is a digital content producer from Long Island who has covered both local and national news since 2018. She joined PIX11 in 2023. See more of her work here.