Some subway and bus fares and bridge tolls along evacuation routes will be reduced as the city works to evacuate residents in the Zone A areas, the MTA and Governor Cuomo announced this evening.
“The only approach to a storm of this magnitude is to act preemptively. Waiving fares may be the factor that convinces some people to leave promptly when they might otherwise be tempted to stay and confront this hurricane,” Governor Cuomo said.
Already, tolls have been suspended at the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge and the Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge. At 8 p.m., tolls will be suspended on the Verrazano Bridge while city bus fares will be suspended as well. Those leaving the evacuation areas and the Rockaways via subway will not have to pay either.
9 comments
Yep, I’m going to hold onto my last $2.25 if it kills me.
wait — you still have to pay to evacuate? WTF
They won’t charge you to get out, but they will charge you to get back in!
When I got on the IRT this evening at about 9 at City Hall, they were not collecting any fares, just letting people in through the gates. Go figure.
No fares on the subway last night either. All turnstiles were on “No Entry” and “No Exit” mode and the gates were open.
Does Gov. Cuomo plan on reimbursing the MTA for lost revenue?
Well … with the people who paid for a month ahead of time who won’t be able to use the system for several days… They might come out even.
Why would they? All operating costs are still there – employees are still paid as if the trains are running, maintenance costs are if anything higher in order to assess flood damage, etc. The only cost that the MTA will have saved is the electricity for the trains, and that’s not a large fraction of its operating cost.
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