A few days after Albany leaders signed off on an MTA bailout plan, the agency’s board of directors agreed to a new set of fare increases that will put the new price for a single ride MetroCard at $2.25 and increase other fares and tolls about 10 percent system-wide.
The MTA board voted on the proposal on Monday, May 11 and commuter rail fares will begin to increase on June 17; fares on subways and buses will change on June 28; bridge and tunnel tolls will increase on July 12.
“Today we implemented a bittersweet solution that comes with additional pain for our customers, our employees and those who live and work in our region,” said H. Dale Hemmerdinger, Chair of the MTA Board. “But it will – at least for the short term – prevent the Armageddon that loomed large when we last met.”
If Albany leaders did not reach an agreement to bail out the cash-strapped agency, the MTA would have increased fares by 30 percent and implemented service cuts to dozens of subway and bus lines throughout the city.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, May 7, just one day after the State legislators reached an agreement on the bailout plan, the MTA Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer Elliot G. Sander decided to bail on the agency. Governor David Paterson accepted Sander’s resignation on Thursday, May 7.
Sander offered his resignation to Paterson earlier this year in anticipation of the legislation that joins the Chair and CEO positions at the MTA. Currently, Hemmerdinger is the Chair of the agency.
“It has been a great honor to lead the 70,000 hard-working men and women who run the world’s greatest public transportation system,” Sander said. “I am tremendously proud of our accomplishments making the MTA a leaner, more efficient and effective organization.”
Sander’s resignation is effective May 22, 2009, ending a tenure that began January 1, 2007. It is still unclear whom Governor Paterson will choose to lead the MTA going forward.
According to his biography on the MTA web site, Sander has more than 30 years of experience in the public, private, and academic sectors, where he has specialized in organizational “turn-arounds,” managing large capital projects and programs, and developing and implementing progressive transportation policy.
At the MTA, he concentrated on improving overall performance by focusing on customer service, workforce development and institutional transformation while dealing with large budgetary shortfalls.
Sander earned praise from many of his colleagues, as well as legislators who worked with him throughout the past few years.
“I for one am sorry to see him go, he really understood outer-borough mass transit issues even if we disagreed on congestion pricing and bridge tolls, and I hope Governor Paterson selects someone with a similar understanding of our needs here in Queens,” said Queens Assemblymember Rory Lancman.
