As the fare goes up, service changes abound

Needless to say, it is a big weekend for the MTA. At 12:01 a.m. on Sunday morning, the fares go up for the first time in five years. On Monday, MTA CEO Elliot Sander will present the first-ever State of the MTA address. And in between, subway service will be all kinds of screwy.

First, the fare hikes. As I detailed earlier, the Unlimited Ride MetorCards are still good, and the MTA is instituting a grace period of at least eight days to use the ones you have stockpiled away. If riders are judicious in their hoarding, the agency will probably extend that grace period. But that’s not at all set in stone.

Otherwise, how are the fares going up? Take a look:

• Base fare remains $2.00.
• Base express bus fare remains $5.00.
• On Pay-Per-Ride MetroCard, an additional 15% is added to card with the purchase or addition of $7 or more. (Cost per ride would increase from $1.67 to $1.74.)
• Initial Pay-Per-Ride minimum purchase remains $4.00.
• Unlimited ride cards will increase to:
  • 1-Day Fun Pass: $7.50.
  • 7-Day Unlimited Ride MetroCard: $25.
  • 30-Day Unlimited Ride MetroCard: $81.
• Introduce a 14-Day Unlimited Ride MetroCard that will cost $47.
• Cost of 7-Day Express Bus Plus MetroCard remains $41.

There will be a quiz, but luckily for you, the MTA is providing a cheat sheet. Signs in the station – available here as a PDF – will guide riders through the awkward process of the MTA’s crazy math. Other signs – which you can view here as a PDF – will present the fare structure. Good luck.

Meanwhile, as the new fares are enacted, trains are running in weird ways all over town. For Brooklynites, pay very close attention the special announcement concerning F and G service south of Jay Street on the F and Hoyt-Schermerhorn Sts. on the G. It’s a real mess.

On with the service changes:

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, March 1 to 5 a.m. Monday, March 3, uptown 1 and 2 trains skip 50th, 59th, and 66th Streets due to station rehab work at 59th Street-Columbus Circle.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, March 1 to 5 a.m. Monday, March 3, downtown 1 and 2 trains skip 86th and 79th Streets due to station rehab work at 96th Street.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, March 1 to 5 a.m. Monday, March 3, 4 trains run in two sections due to a track concrete pour at 149th Street-Grand Concourse:

• Between Woodlawn and 125th Street and
• Between 125th Street and New Lots Avenue

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, March 1 to 5 a.m. Monday, March 3, there are no 5 trains between East 180th Street and Bowling Green stations due to track panel installation north of Jackson Avenue. Customers may transfer between the 2 and 4 at 149th Street-Grand Concourse.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, March 1 to 5 a.m. Monday, March 3, Manhattan-bound 7 trains skip 69th, 52nd, 46th, 40th, and 33rd Streets due to track work at 69th Street.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, March 1 to 5 a.m. Monday, March 3, there is no C train service. Customers should take the A in Manhattan and the F in Brooklyn. A trains will run local between 168th Street and Canal Street stations. This is due to Bergen Street signal work.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, March 1 to 5 a.m. Monday, March 3, uptown A trains skip Spring, 23rd and 50th Streets due to station rehab at 59th Street-Columbus-Circle.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, March 1 to 5 a.m. Monday, March 3, there are no E trains between West 4th Street and World Trade Center due to Chambers Street signal modernization. Customers should take the A instead.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, March 1 to 5 a.m. Monday, March 3, Manhattan-bound F trains run on the V line from Roosevelt Avenue to 47th-50th Streets-Rockefeller Center due to communications equipment installation between 36th Street and 47th-50th Streets-Rockefeller Center stations.

From 12:01 a.m. to noon, Saturday, March 1, Manhattan-bound F trains skip 169th Street and Sutphin Blvd. due to track work between 169th Street and Van Wyck Blvd. stations.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, March 1 to 5 a.m. Monday, March 3, free shuttle buses replace F and G trains between Jay St. and Hoyt-Schermerhorn Sts., respectively, and 7th Avenue (Brooklyn) due to Bergen Street signal work.

From 8:30 p.m. Friday, February 29 to 5 a.m. Monday, March 3 (and weekends until further notice), there are no G trains between Forest Hills-71st Avenue and Court Square due to Bergen Street signal work. Customers should take the E or R instead.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, March 1 to 5 a.m. Monday, March 3, there are no G trains between Hoyt-Schermerhorn and Smith-9th Sts. due to Bergen Street signal work. Customers should take the free shuttle bus instead.

From12:01 a.m. Saturday, March 1 to 5 a.m. Monday, March 3, G trains run in two sections due to Bergen Street signal work:

• Between Court Square and Bedford-Nostrand Avs and
• Between Bedford-Nostrand Avs and Hoyt-Schermerhorn Sts

From 4 a.m. Saturday, March 1 to 10 p.m. Sunday, March 2, Queens-bound J trains run express from Myrtle Avenue to Broadway Junction due to track panel work between Myrtle Avenue and Broadway Junction.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, March 1 to 5 a.m. Monday. March 3, Manhattan-bound N and R trains are rerouted over the Manhattan Bridge from DeKalb Avenue to Canal Street due to tunnel rehabilitation between Prince Street and Whitehall Street stations.

From 11 p.m. Friday, February 29 to 5 a.m., Monday, March 3, the last stop for some Brooklyn-bound Q trains is Brighton Beach due to Transit facility repair work at Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue.