MTA Fare And Toll Hikes Go Into Effect Sunday
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Brace yourself. MTA fare and toll hikes go into effect on Sunday.
Base fares on subway and bus rides will go up by 25 cents, from $2.50 to $2.75. The 30-day unlimited MetroCard will increase by $4.50, from $112 to $116.50, and the seven-day unlimited card by $1, from $30 to $31.
MTA Fare And Toll Hikes Go Into Effect Sunday
Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road fares will increase 4 percent. Average fares will increase about $10.
Bridge and tunnel tolls will also go up by 4 percent for E-ZPass users and about 6 percent to 10 percent for cash customers.
MTA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Tom Prendergast called the increases modest, saying that they will preserve the health not just of the MTA but of the entire region, CBS2's Dave Carlin reported in January.
MTA Fare And Toll Hikes Go Into Effect Sunday
Many commuters were not in favor of the hikes, saying they expect service improvements if they're going to be paying more.
"The service isn't worth it, that's for sure," one commuter told 1010 WINS' Glenn Schuck. "We have no choice, what are we going to do? We have to use it."
"It would be nice if they were using these things to actually provide better services, timeliness of all the lines and the construction. I mean the 7 line doesn't even run on weekends," said commuter Tammy Payne.
"The problems that Metro-North has been having are tremendous and I don't think they should charge their passengers for their inability to keep their trains safe," said Metro-North rider Linda Snider of Hastings On Hudson.
"Sometimes the trains are dirty, they break down, so I'd like the system to be more reliable," said Metro-North rider Michael Shifris of Westchester.
But commuter Gabe Thompson said fare increases are inevitable.
"I'm sure there's a lot of things to pay for in running something that goes 24 hours a day and I don't think the upkeep on it is cheap and it's not getting any cheaper," Thomspon said.
The MTA said the hikes are needed to balance the budget against rising operating costs, pointing out they've cut $1 billion in spending, WCBS 880's Marla Diamond reported.
