Subway Fare Hike On The Agenda For City Council Hearing
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A subway fare hike is months away but the matter is set to take center stage at City Hall on Tuesday.
Subway tickets are set to spike 7.5 percent next January in the latest round of fare hikes hitting straphangers where it hurts most.
The proposed fare increases will add $448 million to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's coffers, money the agency says is needed to bridge a large budget gap and offset the soaring cost of operating city buses.
One of the city's largest transit advocacy groups is lashing out, calling the fare hikes unfair and demanding the City Council put the brakes on the plan.
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A spokesperson for Transportation Alternatives says, "Over the past six years, New Yorkers' public transit fare has risen four times while neither New York City nor New York State has chipped in a single dollar more."
While straphangers may be suffering, next year taxi riders are set for an easier ride.
At today's hearing, the City Council will also address the Taxi and Limousine Commission's plan to add 2,000 medallions and a pilot program which will outfit cabs with iPads instead of televisions.
