Comments on: Here we go again: the fare hike edition

By: Second Ave. Sagas | A New York City Subway Blog » Blog Archive » MTA bigwigs begin fare hike push

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 04:04:11 +0000

[...] the summer, a few anonymous MTA officials dropped a story on Pete Donohue. The MTA, they said, is not-so-quietly considering a fare hike for 2009 to meet operating budget deficits that will exceed tens of millions of [...]

By: Second Ave. Sagas | A New York City Subway Blog » Blog Archive » Daily News pointing fingers in the wrong direction

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 18:31:24 +0000

[...] in the New York area, the Daily News editorial board isn’t too thrilled with the news that another fare hike may head our way next year. The board issues a stridently worded editorial blasting MTA Chair Dale Hemmerdinger and [...]

By: Boris

Boris — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 16:18:58 +0000

According to the NY Times in 2005, salaries at the MTA aren’t the problem:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12.....;oref=slog

Average MTA Salaries
Bus or Subway Operator US$63,000
Subway Conductor US$54,000
Station Agent US$51,000
Cleaner US$40,000
Average MTA Worker US$52,000

The benefits are quite generous. And I’m guessing the executive salaries are ludicrous.

Perhaps privatize the subways, at least partially? They were private, initially, as I understand it. Can you imagine the lazy MTA workers fleeing like rats under a subway track?

For the record, I am far from anti-union — just tired of having disgusting, embarrassingly inefficient subways.

By: Second Ave. Sagas | A New York City Subway Blog » Blog Archive » Are the MTA’s capital plans hanging in the balance?

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 04:01:51 +0000

[...] days ago, the MTA dropped the news that a second fare hike may become a reality in 2009. Lost in the news on Friday were some alarming reports about the state of the MTA’s capital [...]

By: Todd

Todd — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 22:33:12 +0000

Before the raise the fare, they should ask for donations. The MTA needs all the help they can get, and the Green Movement is very in right now. It’d be a big PR stunt if celebrities and billionaires helped public transit.

By: Doug

Doug — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 18:42:59 +0000

They should double the fare. Our subways are disgusting – it’s the worst run system in the world and it’s because it’s terribly underfunded. I feel like I’m going into a 3rd world country when I go down there. The service is terrible (train service and train employees – could they find employees who are dumber and lazier?) – the stations are outdated and full of lead paint – we need more lines (2 and 7 trains) – we need “next train” time indicators – we need cosmetic work done on station after station – we need to get rid of the rats (seriously it’s so disgusting and unacceptable that in 2008 our subway stations are rat infested) – the stations are so dirty and should be cleaned several times per day – they all need to be powerwashed.

$150/month is nothing for unlimited transportation. Charge us more and give us better service.

By: Nick

Nick — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 13:49:48 +0000

Was about to say.. £1.50 is very low for London.

That’s a Zone 1 ticket (basically the same as downtown Manhattan.) A zone 1-2 pass is £2 (that’s like downtown and midtown). A paper ticket for ONE ride that doesn’t take into account for zone is £4. Yes. £4. I don’t care how depressed the dollar is, an all-zone SINGLE paper ticket for London costs over $8.

That’s alot of money. Mind you, the average New Yorker pays less than $1.56/ride (based on unlimited rider cards) and even LESS if you use pre-tax dollars to buy it (like alot of companies let you do.)

I love the fact that it’s so cheap, but lets not kid ourselves. At current prices the NYC Subway is a bargain.

By: Ray

Ray — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 12:12:50 +0000

Conversely, need to take into account our dollar is depressed.

By: Ray

Ray — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 12:10:51 +0000

Raise it.

From http://onlibertynow.blogspot.c.....ondon.html April 2008 (In British £)

London £1.50 using the Oyster card
Paris £1.23 includes zones 1 and 2. Paper ticket
New York £1.04 no zones, price is for a single journey between any two stations on the network. Paper ticket (This is our $2.00 fare which few actually pay!)
Sydney £1.56 zone 1 only on the light rail transit. Paper ticket
Tokyo £1.59 for a single journey between zero up to 40km. Paper ticket
Hong Kong £1.61 for the most expensive ticket. Paper ticket
Moscow £0.89 for two rides. Paper ticket
Beijing £0.23 minimum price that needs to be paid for a single journey. Paper ticket.

By: Ray

Ray — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 11:57:58 +0000

I know the rider contributes more to the budget than almost any other transit system. Despite this, I say, “Raise the fare now.” Don’t wait until there is a crisis. Move it up a dime, a quarter or even fifty cents. Just do it and keep doing it. There is no need to study it. Inflation is a fact of life. The reason there are so many complainers is that MTA hasn’t kept up. How can the MTA sustain, upgrade and expand this massive system with a fare structure that has kept pricing on average 10 years behind?