MTA Chairman and CEO Joseph Lhota said today that the MTA could do away with MetroCard discounts in an effort to raise the agency’s revenues, reported Crain’s New York Business.
“We have enormous discounts in the system. And I think we need to look at those discounts, and we need to have, on the entire fare issue, a public debate,” Lhota said at breakfast forum sponsored by the publication Wednesday.
Cutting the discounts is just one of several options that is under consideration, said an MTA spokesperson.
Currently, subway riders receive a 7 percent bonus when they put $10 or more on their MetroCards.
But even if the discounts are cut, there could still be a fare hike, Lhota stressed. The MTA plans on raising fares by 7.5 percent in March 2013.
