MTA's fare hike for subways, buses, gets questioned, criticized by riders at first public hearing

Transit riders are speaking out against the MTA’s proposed fare and toll hike, which they said would only worsen the agency’s fare evasion problem, if more New Yorkers can't afford to pay for their train or bus.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority held its first of three public hearings on the proposed rate hike, which could go before the MTA Board for approval as early as next month, and take effect in January.

Although some of the biggest fare policy changes are proposed for the Long Island Rail Road — including the reduction in validity period for some tickets from the current 60 days to just four hours — speakers at Tuesday night’s hearing in Brooklyn were primarily concerned with potential changes to New York City bus and subway fares.

The cost of a bus or subway ride will climb 10 cents, from $2.90 to $3, under the plan. The proposal also gets rid of the unlimited ride, 30-day pass — an option on the MetroCard, which is being eliminated at the end of this year and replaced with the MTA’s new OMNY tap-and-go fare payment system.

"Are you delusional?" speaker Emmanuel Rafael Vásquez-Rodríguez, a John Jay College student, asked the panel of MTA officials during his Zoom testimony. "Every day I am late to work. I am late to school. ... There’s always a flood. There’s always a brake emergency. There’s always a power outage. And you’re expecting me to pay more?"

At the beginning of the hearing, MTA officials explained, and defended, their proposal, which they noted followed a pattern established 15 years ago of "small and predictable" rate increases every other year in order to maintain service levels, and avoid large, double-digit percentage hikes.

"This has been good for the customers and this has been good for the MTA," said Jessie Lazarus, the MTA’s deputy chief for commercial ventures. New Yorkers have some of the lowest transportation costs in the country, he said. "The MTA is what keeps New York affordable, and fares and tolls are what keeps the MTA running, and running frequent service."

Still, some riders questioned the strategy of raising rates while simultaneously trying to address fare evasion, which costs the MTA about $800 million annually, the agency has said.

"People hop [turnstiles] because they can’t pay the $2.90. So you want it to go up to $3?" said Vivian Jackson, who attended the hearing with several activists who dubbed themselves the Fares Ain’t Fair Coalition.

"We literally give you billions. ... We do not have more to give you," said Jackson, who noted that, in addition to fares, New Yorkers subsidize the MTA through tolls and dedicated taxes. "You already take our money over and over and over again. So I don’t understand why you think it’s OK to increase the fare."

At a second hearing Wednesday morning, some speakers criticized the plan to make LIRR electronic ticket active as soon as they were purchased, and valid only for four hours. The shortened validity period also will apply to some paper tickets — a policy that speaker Gary Prophet called "anti-passenger."

"Many people purchase their tickets well in advance, especially the physically challenged," said Prophet, president of the Empire State Passengers Association, a public transportation advocacy group.

Prophet said lines at railroad ticket machines at some stations were already long. "Can you imagine the lines when even more passengers, who don’t want to purchase their tickets at the last minute, are forced to purchase their tickets at the last minute?"

A third public hearing was scheduled for Wednesday evening.

By Alfonso A. Castillo

alfonso.castillo@newsday.com@alfonsoreports

Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.