MTA includes fare hike in $17B budget

Get ready to dig a little deeper for fares and tolls — the MTA on Wednesday passed a controversial $17 billion budget that’s banking on price hikes.

All but two Metropolitan Transportation Authority board members supported the 2019 budget that assumes the agency will receive about $270 million from fare and toll increases next year, even though the board still has to approve the hikes this January.

Acting MTA Chairman Fernando Ferrer said it’s the board’s responsibility to pass a balanced budget, even without knowing whether fares and tolls will ultimately go up.

“If something falls through, then we’ve got to find additional revenue or make very deep service cuts,” Ferrer said after the meeting.

“I’m against, personally, service cuts. I remember when that happened several years ago.”

MTA board members Veronica Vanterpool and Carl Weisbrod — nominees of Mayor de Blasio — abstained, citing their criticism of the budget.

But even those who supported the budget were displeased with fare and toll hikes hitting riders while officials try to improve service.

“I’m not happy about it,” MTA board member Peter Ward, a rep for Gov. Cuomo, said.

“I would much rather vote for this budget having this board made a decision about the fare increases . . . . I personally find it offensive that we’re going to increase fares for Access-A-Ride.”

Board member Larry Schwartz vowed to overhaul the MTA’s structure amid an emotional request for an early budget vote so he could make an appointment for what he called an “important medical procedure.” He didn’t disclose any details.

“We will be very aggressive and proactive in changing the entire structure of the MTA,” Schwartz said. “I will be the biggest pain in the ass of this organization as chair of the finance committee to restructure it, to consolidate it, to change its governance.”