Guest Op-Ed: Say No To MTA Fare Hikes
It’s that time of year again: time for another transportation fare and toll increase. It seems that each fall, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) decides to raise fares and tolls on the backs of commuters and drivers. This fall is no different.
Last month, the MTA proposed a new series of fare increases. A fare and toll hike in 2013 – a likely scenario – would be the fourth such increase in five years and in both proposed scenarios, the new fare options would hit the residents of Brooklyn particularly hard.
In one proposed scenario, the base fare for city buses and subways would go up 25 cents to $2.50 and the 7% bonus on the unlimited MetroCard would be gone. For riders, that means upwards of $200 more a year in commuting costs. In another scenario, the unlimited 30-day MetroCard would go up 20% from $104 to $125. That would equal $252 more a year.