Local pols, community members pan fare and toll hike
Brooklyn residents and local elected officials are not taking kindly to the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s January 22 announcement that base fares for MetroCards will be raised from $2.50 to $2.75, 30-day passes from $112.00 to $116.50, and cash tolls for the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge will increase $1, hiking the price up to $16, starting March, 2015.
As part of its 2015 financial plan, the MTA introduced proposals last year to raise the fares by four percent over the next two years—in order to aid in filling a $15 billion budget gap it is attempting to recover from.
“I am dissatisfied – but sadly not surprised – that the MTA has approved yet another round of fare and toll hikes,” said Councilmember Vincent Gentile. “New Yorkers are not ATM machines. No matter how small the increase, it is not a triumph if the MTA must raise fares and balance its budget on the backs of hardworking New Yorkers.”