MTA Raising Fare Prices By 4 Percent, Not 7.5 Percent In 2015
Image: Roosevelt Islander
Fun fact: When the New York City subway system opened in 1904, subway fare cost 5¢. And ever since, fares have risen steadily, most recently topping out at $2.50 for base fare in March 2013. Now, less than two years later, we have another one coming our way in 2015 and, lucky us, it’s going to be less than originally intended.
As transit enthusiasts may know, the MTA was planning to raise the subway fare by 7.5% in 2015, but has now officially decided against it, revealing in their newly-released budget that the fare increase will be a mere 4%. According to the Daily News, the 7.5% hike was intended to offset a projected $260 million increase in labor costs, but now the MTA will bear the brunt of that cost instead of foisting it off on us. Thank you.
Still, that doesn’t mean we won’t see another hike. There’s already one in the works for 2017 and with all the much-needed service improvements the MTA has planned (i.e. new subway cars, more weekend train availability, expanded bus service, etc.)—all requiring more laborers—there’s really no avoiding it.
We’ll accept that, but only on one condition: Please use the additional funds to keep the commuting rats to a minimum.
Follow Nikita Richardson on Twitter @nikitarbk
