Fare Facts Update

In order to close budget gaps projected over the next four years, the MTA has proposed a number of actions, including raising fares on subways, buses, and commuter rail lines and tolls on bridges and tunnels.

Below are the facts about these proposals and information on how you can comment on them.

The MTA is projecting over $6 billion in deficits over the next four years. In order to close these gaps, a number of actions have been proposed. These include internal belt tightening, contributions from our work force, more than $2 billion in additional state and city support, and fare and toll increases. No service cuts have been proposed. On the contrary, the MTA anticipates increasing service over this time period.

In addition the MTA's financial plan proposes limiting fare and toll adjustments to the cost of living every other year, which would provide our customers with smaller, more predictable fare increases and will allow the MTA to better manage its financial planning, service improvements, and capital programs.

Proposed 2008 fare and toll options for public discussion are described here. Opportunities for comment include eight public hearings to be held in November 2007, an interactive public engagement workshop, an online web forum (webinar), MTA Board and committee meetings from October through December 2007, and email or letter submissions. All public comments and feedback will help inform the MTA Board’s decision-making process. At the December 2007 Board meeting, it is anticipated that the Board will consider the proposals, or variations of them, and determine which ones, if any, to adopt.

Subways and Buses

The MTA has proposed two alternative fare scenarios for subway and bus travel operated by MTA New York City Transit, MTA Long Island Bus, and MTA Bus Company.

The proposals are (1) the current fare structure with modest increases and (2) the introduction of peak and off-peak fares on subways and local buses to encourage off-peak ridership. Both are designed to retain riders and maximize the use of transit. The elements of each proposal are:

1. Modest Increases to the Current Fare Structure

Increase the base fare, which was last increased in 2003, from $2.00 to $2.25.
Retain the existing bonus structure of 20% with a purchase of $10 or more on Pay-Per-Ride MetroCard.
Increase the express bus fare from $5 to $5.25; 7-Day Express Bus Plus MetroCard price remains unchanged at $41.
Introduce a 14-Day Unlimited Ride MetroCard that would cost $45 to provide an attractive option for customers who currently don’t use the 30-Day Unlimited Ride MetroCard.
Increase the price of unlimited ride cards:
- 1-Day Fun Pass increases from $7 to $7.50.
- 7-Day Unlimited Ride MetroCard increases from $24 to $25.
- 30-Day Unlimited Ride MetroCard increases from $76 to $79.

2. Peak and Off-Peak Fare Structure

Charge a fare of $2.25 for cash and Single Ride tickets that would be in effect at all times.
Establish peak hours: weekdays from approximately 6 to 10 a.m. and 3 to 7 p.m. All other times, including weekends and designated holidays, would be off-peak.
Charge a discounted peak fare of $2.00 and an off-peak fare of $1.50 to users of Pay-Per Ride MetroCard.
Raise the initial Pay-Per-Ride MetroCard minimum purchase from $4 to $6.
Eliminate the current bonus on Pay-Per-Ride purchases of $10 or more.
Retain current $5.00 express bus fare and decrease the cost of the 7-Day Express Bus Plus MetroCard from $41 to $40.
Introduce a 14-Day Unlimited Ride MetroCard that would cost $48.
Increase the price of unlimited ride cards:
- 1-Day Fun Pass increases from $7 to $7.50.
- 7-Day Unlimited Ride MetroCard increases from $24 to $26.
- 30-Day Unlimited Ride MetroCard increases from $76 to $81

Commuter Railroads

Since the commuter railroads’ fare structure already includes peak and off-peak fares, this proposal provides for modest increases to all ticket types. The elements of this proposal for commuter rail fares for travel provided by MTA Long Island Rail Road and MTA Metro-North Railroad for New York State service include:

Increase ticket prices up to 8% for all ticket types to/from Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens; for monthly tickets between other stations (intermediate travel); and for connecting services to MNR railroad stations. The majority of these tickets will increase by 6.25% to 6.75%.
Increase ticket prices for one-way, round-trip, and ten-trip travel between other stations (intermediate travel) up to 11.1%. (Increases of more than 8% will be held to a maximum of 25 cents per ride.)
Reduce the Mail&Ride fare discount on the railroad portion of the joint monthly commutation/monthly Unlimited Ride MetroCard from 5% to 3%.
Increase the one-way Hudson Rail Link fare by 25 cents to match the increase in the base subway and bus fare.
Increase the weekly Uniticket fare for connecting New York City and Long Island bus service by up to 75 cents and the monthly Uniticket fare by up to $2.00 to correspond to the increases in 7-Day and 30-Day Unlimited Ride MetroCard.
Increase the CityTicket price for one-way weekend travel within New York City from $3.00 to $3.25.

Reduced Fares

Current reduced fare programs will continue, and these fares will increase proportionately to the applicable fares.

Paratransit

Increase the NYC Transit Access-A-Ride fare from $2.00 to $2.25.
Increase the LI Bus Able-Ride fare from $3.50 to $4.00.
Increase the cost of an Able-Ride 20-trip book from $70 to $76.

Bridges and Tunnels

At the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge, Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, Queens Midtown Tunnel, Throgs Neck Bridge, and Triborough Bridge, the one-way cash toll for cars would increase from $4.50 to $5.00 and the one-way E-ZPass toll would increase from $4.00 to $4.25.
At the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge the round-trip cash toll (collected only in the westbound direction) would increase from $9.00 to $10.00 and the E-ZPass toll would increase from $8.00 to $8.50. The Staten Island residents E-ZPass toll will increase from $4.80 to $5.20, and other resident discount programs will remain in effect with similar increases.
At the Henry Hudson Bridge, whose traffic volumes are comparable to the larger facilities above, the one-way cash toll for cars would increase from $2.25 to $2.75 and the one-way E-ZPass toll would increase from $1.75 to $2.00. These tolls remain lower than tolls at the other major crossings.
At the Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge and the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge the one-way cash toll for cars would increase from $2.25 to $2.50 and the one-way E-ZPass toll would increase from $1.50 to $1.60. The Rockaway residents E-ZPass toll would increase from $1.00 to $1.10.
Crossing charges for all other types of vehicles will change in proportionate amounts to these changes.

The toll proposals for these facilities enhance the E-ZPass discount in order to further reduce travel time through the toll plazas.

Public Participation

The MTA is actively seeking comment from the public on these proposals at public hearings, a public engagement workshop, a web forum (webinar), and via letter or email.

Public Hearings

Monday, November 5, 2007, 6 p.m.
Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge
Grand Ballroom
333 Adams Street, Brooklyn
Directions: to Jay St-Borough Hall, to Lawrence St, or to Borough Hall.; B25, B26, B37, B38, B41, B45, B52, B54, B57, B61, B65, B67, or B75 bus

Monday, November 5, 2007, 6 p.m.
Palisades Center
Raso Community Room, 4th floor
1000 Palisades Center Drive, West Nyack
Directions: Metro-North to Tarrytown, then Tappan ZEExpress Bus to Palisades Center Stores; Community Center next to ice rink

Wednesday, November 7, 2007, 6 p.m.
Farmingdale State College
Roosevelt Hall – Little Theater
2350 Broadhollow Road, Farmingdale
Directions: LIRR to Farmingdale, free LI Bus transfer to the hearing location

Wednesday, November 7, 2007, 6 p.m.
Sheraton LaGuardia East Hotel
Ballroom
135-20 39th Avenue, Flushing, Queens
Directions: to Flushing-Main St; Q12, Q13, Q14, Q15, Q16, Q17, Q20A, Q20B, Q25, Q26, Q27, Q28, Q34, Q44, Q48, Q58, Q65 and QBx1 bus; LIRR to Flushing Station

Thursday, November 8, 2007, 6 p.m.
Westchester County Center
East Wing, 1st floor
198 Central Avenue, White Plains
Directions: Metro-North to White Plains, then any of these Bee-Line buses: 1W, 5, 6, 13, 14, 15, 20, or 40

Thursday, November 8, 2007, 6 p.m.
Hotel Pennsylvania
Ball Room, 2nd floor
401 7 Avenue (West 32 and West 33 Streets), Manhattan
Directions: to 34th St/Penn Station or to 34 Street-Herald Square; M4, M6, M7, M10, M16, M20, M34, or Q32 bus; LIRR to Penn Station

Tuesday, November 13, 2007, 6 p.m.
Michael J. Petrides Educational Complex
Auditorium, Building C
715 Ocean Terrance, Staten Island
Directions: S53/93 to Clove Road and Tioga Street/Howard Ave or S61/91, S62/92, or S66/67 to Victory Boulevard and Clove Road, then transfer to S60 (there is no late evening S66, S91, S92 or S93 service)

Tuesday, November 13, 2007, 6 p.m.
Lehman College
Speech and Theater Building
Lovinger Theatre, 1st floor
250 Bedford Park Boulevard, Bronx
Directions: to Bedford Park Blvd-Lehman College or to Bedford Park Blvd; Bx10, Bx26, or Bx28 bus

All public hearing locations are accessible to the mobility impaired. Interpreter services will be available for the hearing impaired. Spanish language interpreters will also be available.

Registration to speak will be open until 8 p.m. on the dates of the hearings. All registered speakers will be heard. Oral testimony is limited to three minutes per speaker. To register to speak in advance of the hearing please contact Douglas Sussman, Director, MTA Community Affairs at 212-878-7483, write to him at 347 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10017, or via the MTA website.

Public Engagement Workshop

On November 17, the MTA will hold a first-ever public engagement workshop to discuss the various fare and toll options and MTA priorities over the next five to ten years. An online web forum (webinar) will be scheduled soon after November 17 to allow additional public discussion of those issues. Details about the workshop and the webinar will be published on the MTA website later in October.

Mail and Email

You can comment directly on these proposals through the MTA website by using the MTA email system or by mailing your comments to: Douglas Sussman, Director, Community Affairs, 347 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10017.

All of the public comments and feedback will help inform the MTA Board's decision-making process. At the December 2007 Board Meeting, it is anticipated that the MTA Board will consider the proposals, or variations of them, and determine which one, if any, to adopt.