Category: Fare Hikes

Gov. Spitzer doesn’t want more money dropped into the MTA’s turnstiles. (Courtesy of flickr user jlin45d)

The political grandstanding on the possibility of an MTA fare hike has begun. Look out.

Just yesterday, MTA CEO Elliot “Lee” Sander announced that the MTA may have to look at the possibility of a fare hike in 2008. Sander, vague on the possibility of a fare hike, knows the vultures will descend if he starts talking in definites. Chuck Bennett on amNY’s Tracker Blog said as much yesterday.

Other politicos in New York started taking positions on the fare hike pretty quickly. Our new governor Eliot Spitzer jumped into the fray as he announced his stringent opposition to a fare hike. In fact, Spitzer has promised to do “everything possible” to avoid a fare hike. Strong words from the man in charge. Metro New York reported:

Yesterday Spitzer said higher fares might be avoided by the state contributing more to the MTA. “We will increase state investment in transportation — both capital and operating sides of the budget — because that is the only way to maintain our transportation,” Spitzer said.

With this promise, the ball is squarely in Spitzer’s court. He’s right to note that the state can stave off a fare hike. If Spitzer can get the legislature to guarantee the City-based subway enough money and then some to cover the necessary costs, we won’t face a fare hike. But upstate representatives are always loathe to fund New York City-centric projects.

This will be one political dance worth watching as the City’s own Spitzer may have to battle a powerful upstate coalition of representatives opposed to giving more money to the MTA.

That sound you hear, it’s not a dance troupe practicing its tap routine. No, instead, it’s MTA CEO Elliot “Lee” Sander tangoing around the thorny issue of a fare hike in 2008.

The dance sounds a little bit like this. “I think the whole conversation is a little premature for us to engage in, but at the same time I think it’s fair for me to say it’s a real possibility,” Sander said to the Daily News.

Why the fare hike? Well, the MTA, running up annual deficits of $1 billion, needs to cover its costs. It’s simple economics really.

An unprecedented borrowing binge by the MTA – to make up for greatly diminished state and city funding – is coming back to haunt the agency, Sander said, appearing before the Daily News Editorial Board. Debt payments are soaring. Annual deficits are heading north of $1 billion…

The MTA’s grim outlook stems from the state and city cutting its funding for the agency’s core capital plans, which involve nonexpansion projects like track and signal upgrades, Sander said. The 2000-2004 capital plan “was put on the credit card,” he said.

With a new governor more sympathetic to New York City’s transit needs and Senator Schumer and Congressman Rangel in prominent Congressional seats, the MTA should receive more state and federal funding. But it won’t be enough to meet operational costs and capital improvement plans.

Meanwhile, straphangers should be able to shoulder a fare increase. As Sander noted, with discounts on pay-per-ride MetroCards and unlimited MetroCard use, the average cost per ride comes to about $1.30, among the cheaper subway rates in the U.S.

I’m not opposed to a fare hike; I, like Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign, would like to see more funding across the board, and I would like to see the money go toward improvements in the existing system. Those are sensible demands if the MTA is to raise the cost of commuting once again.

Image of the MetroCard Wheel by flickr user Dave Gorman, leading me to wonder Is he Dave Gorman?