Archive for the 'Fare Hikes' Category

Daily News pointing fingers in the wrong direction

Monday, June 9th, 2008

Much like every other straphanger 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 CEO Lee Sander for breaking their fare hike and fiscal promises.
Take [...]

Here we go again: the fare hike edition

Friday, June 6th, 2008

I bet you didn’t see this one coming: According to transit experts and sources at the MTA, New Yorkers may be in store for a second fare hike in two years come 2009 if the authority doesn’t come up with some money stat. It would be just the second time in city history that [...]

Answering Racked on the new prepackaged MetroCards

Thursday, May 15th, 2008

When the MTA introduced the new fare scheme and new 15 percent bonus system in March, the authority also revamped their prepackaged MetroCard program. Chief among the new pre-paid options were two pay-per-ride cards — one for the odd total of $17.39 and the other for the off-kilter sum of $52.17.
When a Racked reader [...]

After the hike, MTA ridership still on the climb

Thursday, May 15th, 2008

The MTA is going your way at a record pace this year. (Graphic courtesy of The Daily News).
Just last week, I wondered how the fare hike would impact MTA ridership figures. Through February of this year, ridership was on pace to set a modern-day record, but the fare hike loomed.
Well, the numbers are out, and [...]

How long until the next fare hike?

Thursday, April 10th, 2008

As the MTA struggles to find billions of dollars to fund its capital plan, MTA COE and Executive Director Elliot “Lee” Sander is turning to the one place over which has control: the fare box. According to the New York Post, Sander said yesterday that the MTA would consider raising fares to fund their capital [...]

Breaking: Planned service upgrades shelved, for now

Monday, March 24th, 2008

Who had March 24th in the “We’re going to delay service upgrades after the fare hike” pool? After talking up service additions across the board, the MTA is unsurprisingly postponing the planned upgrades due to lower-than-expected real estate tax revenues and a generally shaky economy.
William Neuman, writing on City Room, has more of the [...]

MTA raises the tolls

Monday, March 17th, 2008

The final round of the 2008 fare hikes went into effect last approximately 36 hours ago. At 3 a.m. on Sunday morning, the tolls on the MTA-controlled bridges and tunnels around the city went up. NY1 has the details and the MTA has a handy chart detailing the new fares both with and without the [...]

MTA sets June grace period on all pre-hike MetroCards

Monday, March 10th, 2008

Shortly before the MTA raised the fares last week, the agency announced a grace period of indeterminate length ending no early than today. With that early deadline upon us, the MTA has issued guidelines for all pre-fare hike MetroCards that savvy straphangers looking to save a few bucks purchased.
According to the release, the MTA, [...]

With the fare hike, the subway is still a good deal

Tuesday, March 4th, 2008

On the first weekday after the fare hike, Metro, one of New York’s free dailies, ran an article on the rider reaction to the fare hike. As anyone could imagine, most straphangers were complaining about the increase in fares. Of course, they were; no one likes it when prices go up.
But the article wasn’t that [...]

With fare hike upon us, beware stockpiled MetroCards, says MTA

Friday, February 29th, 2008

Back in the dark ages of the New York City subway, before the dawn of the MetroCard, fare hikes were momentous occasions around my house. My parents, who kept 10-packs of tokens in a Keds shoe box, were always prepared to beat the system when the MTA announced higher subway fares.
Unlike with MetroCards where [...]