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New York, NY - Straphangers Fuming over MTA Price Increase |
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At exactly 12:01 a.m, the single-ride subway and bus fare will go from $2 to $2.25 -- its 15th leap since 1948. The 30-day unlimited card will increase $8, to $89.
Though far less painful than a 23 percent doomsday hike prevented only by a state bailout, riders said they will still feel the sting.
"An increase in fare without an increase in service is wrong," railed Giedrimas Jeglinskas, a business-school student with a 4-month-old child.
"The trains are still dirty. We have no new benefit, but we still have an increase," said the Morningside Heights resident. "It's a sign of the times."
As part of the increases, the minimum buy-in to receive a 15 percent pay-per-ride card bonus will rise $1 to $8. Bridge tolls will generally cost about 50 cents more each way.
Shawn Gibbs, of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, just lost his event-coordinator job and said it would be a struggle to fit the weekly card increase into his shrinking budget.
"I need that money to live now," he said while riding the C line. "But I'm forced to pay the increase. You have to get around."
Dothan Negrin, 22, a musician living in SoHo, said he was going to cut transportation costs to avoid the full brunt of the hike.
"I bought a $120 bike off Craigslist recently in order to stop buying a monthly pass. I'm hoping to save about $40 a month," Negrin said.
The hike is part of a massive plan to bail the MTA out of a billion-dollar deficit and fund its large-scale projects.
The plan also includes a 50-cent surcharge on all taxi rides and a series of new taxes that will fill the agency's coffers with an additional $2.3 billion a year.
Williamsburg resident Betsy Martinez said the increases were enough to drive her back into her car.
"I'd rather pay for parking and gas. Forget about saving the planet," she said.
But savvy straphangers can still save a bit.
Anyone buying an unlimited-ride MetroCard today will pay the old fare for the duration of the card -- as long as they initially swipe it by July 6.
Every day after that is one less day the card can be used at the old fare.
Riders can get a prorated refund on the missed days by asking a station agent for a prepaid envelope and sending the card to the MTA.
Also, a federal law allows commuters to count up to $230 of their transportation costs each month as a pretax benefit.
Even with riders reaching deeper into their wallets, the MTA still plans to cut station cleaners and booth agents through attrition.
It will be several years before those positions are fully cut, officials said.
"It's not worth it anymore," said 6-train rider Marlene Lebron. "People aren't getting paid enough, and the trains are still dirty."
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Read Comments (5) — Post Yours »
1
Jun 27, 2009 at 10:46 PM Anonymous Says:
Dirty?? The trains are not dirty!! They are Filthy!! Some people try to sleep on them!!If you use the train early enough in the morning you might find a small family asleep in the train!!
2
Jun 27, 2009 at 11:37 PM tina Says:
I still think its the best deal in town. For 5$ a day you can go to Manhattan and back - no parking, no gas - ---
3
Jun 28, 2009 at 07:36 AM Avrohom Abba Says:
Dirty news, dirty taxes, dirty deals, dirty cuts, DIRTY TRAINS!
Remember if you dare use your car, Mr. Bloomberg has hired, not fired, more traffic ticket givers. He got them by looking at the welfare lists and tracking them to Dunkin Donuts and then pulled all those three hundred pounders out of those donut shops so he could teach them how to ticket us, until we are forced to leave this City Of Taxes.
Oh, and if you junk your car, he will get his other agents to ticket you about your garbage, your lawn sprinkler, your sidewalk and anything else he can, so that you will want to leave the city. The more middle class who leave, the more poor come who in and then the more Federal money he will get.
Mr. Bloomberg ONLY wants the very rich and the very poor. That is how he is running the city.
However, he will never dare tell you that while he runs for office again.
I'm ready to vote for anyone whose name is not Mr. Bloomberg.
4
Jun 28, 2009 at 02:20 AM Five Towns Resident Says:
The subways are still a terrific bargain when you think about it. Once you're in the system, you can go anywhere from anywhere without worrying about wasting gas in traffic, paying tolls or parking fees.
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Jun 29, 2009 at 10:55 AM Ruth Says:
“ The subways are still a terrific bargain when you think about it. Once you're in the system, you can go anywhere from anywhere without worrying about wasting gas in traffic, paying tolls or parking fees. ”
The only way you benefit from that and not spend any money is if you stay in the stations all day and boy is that fun.