NYC to Raise Transit Fares

New York City transit leaders approved a 10-cent increase to fares that will go into effect in January, reports Stefanos Chen in The New York Times.

The vote was part of a larger plan to increase revenue for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. “The cost of weekly and monthly tickets on the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North, which are priced based on the distance traveled, will increase by up to 4.5 percent; one-way fares will climb by up to 8 percent. Access-A-Ride, the paratransit service that costs the same as the subway, will also cost $3 starting next year.” Tolls on some bridges and tunnels will also increase.

Other changes include a 12-ride cap for a seven day period, a longer expiration window for Long Island Rail Road tickets, and $1 fares for accompanied minors 17 and under on commuter railroads.

“Last year, the authority lost roughly $1 billion in revenue to fare and toll evasion, most of it on the buses and subway, according to the Citizens Budget Commission.” Despite the agency’s efforts to increase fare enforcement, “in the first quarter of this year, about 10 percent of subway riders and 44 percent of bus passengers skipped the fare.”