NEW YORK — Happy New Year from the MTA! You still have a few months before they ask you for more money to use public transport.
The public transit agency’s board decided Wednesday to postpone hearings on the fare hike until at least the end of February, meaning subway and MTA bus fares, along with bridge tolls, could rise by June .
Raises generally begin in March each year, following a vote in December. MTA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Janno Lieber said Wednesday that hearings on the bogus hikes would be delayed to allow a subcommittee to study fairness and other variables.
An MTA fare hike is likely inevitable as the cash-strapped transit agency is still in dire straits after the pandemic, but the transit agency has detailed the dire financial straits it is in.
Top transit officials showed MTA board members at a Nov. 30 hearing just how bad the deficit situation is, up to $1 billion, and said it should be closer to $3 billion by 2026, according to MTA Chief Financial Officer Kevin Willens.
The reason for the crisis? Passenger numbers have yet to fully return to pre-pandemic levels, standing at just two-thirds of what they were in 2019 at the end of November.
New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s office asked to know how the MTA plans to save money and fund operations as it seeks to close budget gaps caused by COVID-19. The agency received a $15 billion federal bailout but spent at least two-thirds of it to stay afloat, according to the comptroller’s office.
“That federal relief isn’t forever,” DiNapoli said earlier this month. “Some of that is in the form of a loan that has to be repaid. And the number of runners hasn’t returned.”
The comptroller also warned that as government funds deplete and passenger numbers drop, there could be severe service cuts and fare hikes in the future.
The MTA, in response to the comptroller’s report, said it was “committed to maintaining robust service for our passengers, and this report emphasizes that solving post-pandemic budget gaps with fare hikes and service cuts alone it’s not an attractive option.”
As for cost savings, Lieber said DiNapoli’s suggested service cuts weren’t on the table. However, the agency has announced plans to adjust subway service on more than a dozen lines in 2023 to better reflect post-pandemic passengers. That means changes on weekends, weekdays, and more. View details.
If losses cannot be recouped due to service disruptions, fare increases are the next option and passengers are not thrilled about them.
“It shouldn’t even be the rate it is now. They want more money, but we’re not getting the service we need! It’s out of control,” said cyclist Peggy Banks.
The state audit revealed that before the pandemic, subway and bus fares accounted for 42 percent of MTA revenue. Now, he says it’s just 24%, which just goes to fuel the $1.6 billion deficit, officials say.
DiNapoli’s office says a 28% rate hike would be needed to ease the MTA’s financial pain. An increase in that amount would raise the price of a trip from $2.75 to $3.50.
Meanwhile, Lieber recommended a more modest fare hike of 5%, which would be about 15 cents more than passengers are now paying. He also said the tax cliff could be avoided if federal, state and local governments invest more money, amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars.
“And if they also want an answer that makes the rate hike unnecessary, we’re all ears,” Lieber said.
