MTA set to hike tolls & fares

The days of $2 subway and bus rides could be over by the beginning of 2008, as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced plans to increase fares on all its mass transit services, as well as the bridges and tunnels.
The MTA did not disclose the proposed amount for the rate hike as of press time, but their intention was to increase revenue in 2008 by 6.5 percent in order to cover projected deficits the company has predicted for itself beginning that year.
The proposal, which the MTA Board of Directors unveiled as part of a four-year financial plan on Wednesday, July 25, would also call for fare increases every two years after 2008, but a final vote on the proposal is not expected until December.
Meanwhile, the MTA plans to hold public hearings about the proposed rate hikes before deciding on final numbers to submit to its board.
Queens City Councilmember John Liu, who is the Chair of the Council’s Transportation Committee, said that the MTA’s timing on the potential fare hike was awful.
“We’re on the cusp of sending a very strong message to New Yorkers that mass transit is the way to go,” Liu said. “A fare hike at this point would contradict this message - undermining the goal of reducing congestion - and further contribute to an unfair burden on working families.”