Officials Announce No Subway Fare Hike-- For Now

New York, NY —

The MTA says the 2 dollar base subway fare may not be increased after all. The announcement was made by Governor Spitzer, who says MTA officials recently found an extra $220 million in their year-end projections, based on extra rider ship and real estate taxes.

SPITZER: We think we can use $220 million and allocate it across the ridership over the next 2 years, which is the budgeting cycle we use, in a way that will save the $2 fare.

REPORTER: Spitzer and the head of the MTA, Lee Sander, said unlimited fare metro cards would become more expensive - but not as much as the 6.5 percent initially proposed. They also denied that the move was politically timed to improve Governor Spitzer's low ratings.

While a number of legislators and transit advocates praised the announcement, Diana Fortuna of the Citizens Budget Commission thinks it would be a mistake to avoid a fare hike. But she says it's perfectly normal for the MTA to revise its year-end projections.

FORTUNA: It's not entirely surprising. The MTA has some revenue sources that are pretty unpredictable, particularly the ones that are dependent on the economy. And things have been so strange lately with parts of our economy having been surging, then, more recently, some troubling signs on the horizon, so it's not a simple matter.

REPORTER: The final vote on the fare will come next month, during an MTA Board meeting.