A single ride on the bus and subway will remain $2, but the vast majority of transit riders and motorists should expect to see fares and tolls rise an average of just under 4 percent, officials said yesterday.
Tomorrow, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority will release details of the new fare-hike proposal for 2008, which was revised after the agency discovered an extra $222 million in its coffers.
Under the original plan, fares and tolls would have increased an average of 6.5 percent.
The unexpected windfall allows the MTA to hold the base subway fare at $2 through the end of 2009, even though fewer than 15 percent of riders pay the full fare.
However, in order to meet future budget shortfalls and cover rapidly rising debt, the vast majority of riders and drivers still face an average hike of 3.85 percent, said Gary Dellaverson, the MTA’s chief financial officer.
“If you hold constant one portion of the equation, the increase has to come from the rest,” he said.
Another consequence of putting off the hike to the base fare is that the extra money is a one-shot deal. By 2010, the MTA will be short an additional $120 million and could need an even bigger hike, Dellaverson said.
In the shorter term, by holding the base fare down, users of unlimited and discount MetroCards may face hikes higher than 3.85 percent, officials said.
“The base fare is now out of the equation, thanks to politics,” said Andrew Albert, a rider advocate and MTA board member. “We’re penalizing 86 percent of our customers so 14 percent feel good.”
But other transit advocates said many who pay the full $2 are among the poorest riders in the system, and the proposed 25-cent – or 12.5 percent – hike would have been a huge burden.
“Why should we raise the $2 fare when that is the maximum anyone pays in the system?” MTA board member Barry Feinstein asked.
All of the MTA’s agencies have been crunching the numbers to determine how the 3.85 percent hike will be distributed.
The price of seven- and 30-day MetroCards will probably be rounded to the nearest dollar, and the cash toll will be rounded to the nearest quarter, officials said.
There is greater flexibility with E-ZPass, which is entirely electronic.
Tickets on the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North will probably have a range of increases averaging 3.85 percent, officials said.
Other than the base bus and subway fare, nothing is safe.
Of particular concern to transit advocates is the bonus MetroCard, which gives six rides for the price of five – an average fare of $1.67.
“This is the most popular MetroCard, particularly with frequent lower-income riders,” said Gene Russianoff, of the Straphangers Campaign.