Be fare, governor
On NY1 last month during his Second Ave. subway victory lap, Gov. Cuomo asked: “Do you know who runs the MTA?” then answered his own question: “The governor has the majority of members. I’m going to step up and take responsibility.” That welcome claim of ownership can’t just be for sparkly new stations; it must hold for the whole Metropolitan Transportation Authority shebang.
So how’s he’s doing on the labor, fares and leadership fronts?
The contract agreed to with the Transport Workers Union last week grants a series of salary increases of 2.5% per year with no givebacks. While a little steeper than the state contract benchmark of 2% that Cuomo has signed with other unions, the deal is not outlandish, and the MTA books appear to be solid.
Which brings us to the people paying the bills: straphangers. Abiding by what we call the Ravitch Rule of fare hikes every other year in line with inflation, the MTA board is voting this week on which of two plans to boost the price of MetroCards effective March 19.
Both are regressive. At odds with Cuomo’s progressive values and basic fairness, those who can afford the most — buyers of expensive seven- and 30-day unlimited MetroCards — will get the smallest increases (in the 3% range).
Those who add $10 or $20 at a time to their fare card will get hit with bigger increases (in the 4% to 5% range). And the unfortunate who have to scrape together nickels and dimes for each ride face the highest increases (8% to 9%).
The claim that only deep-pocketed tourists buy extra pricey single-ride tickets is wrong; poor New Yorkers do, by the thousands. How is this good policy? Of the two bad options on the table, one is worse. Transitcrats prefer to hike the base from $2.75 to $3 and jump the bonus from 11% to 16%, making a single ticket $3.25. Access-A-Ride fares for people with disabilities would climb 9%. Better to leave the base and Access-A-Ride fares flat and compensate by trimming the bonus to 5%.
We support half-fare MetroCards for those below the poverty line. Until the city finds the money, the base fare should be kept as low as possible.
Last task: keeping the trains on time. While Cuomo runs the MTA, he has other duties as well and must find a new chair to replace Tom Prendergast, a railroad man who is retiring Jan. 31 after decades at the agency, where his career was capped by the opening of the Second Ave. line.
While the new chair will have the gavel, Cuomo, who has literally slapped his name and signature on the maps for the Second Ave. subway, will remain the real motorman.