A People’s History of MTA Fare Hikes
The following year, letter writer E.V. Mitchell spoke some common sense to those who would raise fares during the war. “With our taxes higher than ever before in history and with the vital need for everyone to buy war bonds and stamps, this seems a very inopportune time to be considering the doubling of the subway fare,” he wrote. He also noted it would influence trolley operators to raise their fares, and that many people had to take a trolley to the subway, meaning that “those who now pay 20 cents a day for carfare would have to pay 40 cents.” Today, we have a similar problem with ferries.