New Yorkers Face Fare Hike

New York, NY —

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is projecting a budget gap of nearly 3 billion dollars over the next two years. As a result, the public will likely have to pay more to ride subways, buses and commuter trains. Tolls on bridges and tunnels are also expected to rise. City riders have not seen a fare increase in five years. As transportation officials discuss how to raise revenues, some are already beginning to protest. WNYC's Cindy Rodriguez reports.

The MTA laid out their budget woes and their proposed financial plans as protesters rallied outside their windows. Officials say pension costs and uncertain economic times are some of the reasons for their budget shortfall. Peter Kalikow is the Chairman of the MTA. He says the agency wanted to keep fares at the current levels, but that would have meant drastic cuts:

KALIKOW: We thought after careful deliberation it was not an easy decision for us to make in the end we would not be able to fulfill our mission and we would end up going back where we were.

Kalikow evoked memories of the eighties when subways were covered in graffiti and people were afraid to use the trains:

KALIKOW: Nobody who uses this system wants to go back to where we were.

Instead the MTA is proposing a few different scenarios. One includes raising the fare to a dollar seventy-five and reducing services by 12 percent. It's too soon to tell exactly what the service cuts would mean to the public except that most would effect weekend riders. The other two options include raising fares to two dollars with no cuts to service.

Michael Lindow commutes to the city from Brooklyn . He says he's not ready to see any type of fare hike:

LINDOW: With the way of what's going on in the economy...I don't think the regular working class people need any excess money coming out of their pocket right now.

When pushed to choose between the two options though Lindow says he would have to go for the 25-cent increase because he says paying two dollars is just too expensive. But not everyone agrees. Kevin Tucker shines shoes outside Grand Central Station and rides the subway everyday. He calls current services passable at best:

TUCKER: The service is not actually that great now but to cut 'em would definitely damage everything and everybody so I understand...this 50 cent hike its gotta happen...its inflation call it what ever you want but if the service is not gonna drop off than yeah.

The plan also mean the cost of the unlimited Metro card would also increase but just how much is still up for debate. At most the cards would increase by 30 percent that means a 63-dollar monthly card would cost 84 dollars instead. Depending on what combination of cuts and increases occur...the MTA could see a cushion in their budget over the next few years. The money would be considered reserve just in case they say, the economy gets worse or the city suffers another terrorist attack. Gary Kaplan is Budget Director of the MTA:

KAPLAN: There are other things as well. Let's face it our intergovernmental partners could be in worse trouble than we are now assuming. It is not unrealistic to expect we could not get additional aid but actually lose the baseline that we now have.

And that is something Gene Russianoff from The Straphangers Campaign, a commuter advocacy group, worries about. He fears the city and state won't give their fair share towards transportation if the MTA sees an increase in revenues:

RUSSIANOFF: One of my big concerns is that they may have inflated their problem and the goal down the line may be to use the fare hike to bail out the city and state budgets.

But Russianoff congratulated the MTA for what he says is an unprecedented attempt to start a dialogue with riders on fares and service. The MTA is asking the public to weigh in on their proposed plans via their website...where the options are laid out for all to see. It's likely they'll adopt a plan within the next few months. After that, the public will get a chance to give their input at hearings. Officials say its likely New Yorkers won't see any changes until Spring.

For WNYC: I'm Cindy Rodriguez

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