Fare increase to hit Sunday
The MTA’s latest round of fare hikes go into effect Sunday, the first since Gov. Cuomo declared a state of emergency for the agency during 2017’s “summer of hell.”
The change hits at exactly 12:01 a.m. Sunday morning, bumping the cost of a sevenday unlimited MetroCard to $33 from $32 and the cost of 30-day cards to $127 from $121. Single swipes will still cost $2.75, but riders will lose the current 5% bonus when they load up cards on a perride basis.
The price increases were approved by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board in February, a month after members delayed the group’s vote on the issue.
MTA chairman Pat Foye on Wednesday pointed out the fare hikes are below the rate of inflation, but many riders see them as another shot from an agency that has failed them in recent years.
Zorita Worthy, 51, an assistant educator employed by the city, was outraged.
“This (week), a 20-minute ride took me one hour,” Worthy said. “We got stuck in the tunnel between Utica and Nostrand for 28 minutes on the A train. Just sitting there. They claim it’s getting better, but it’s not, and they’re charging us more money.”
Bill Mulkins, a 63-year-old artist from Clinton Hill, said he usually puts $40 on his MetroCard and enjoys the extra rides from the bonus — he said that nixing it will hurt him “a little bit.”
“When they keep doing it and doing it, it adds up after a while,” Mulkins said of the increases. “It gets onerous.”
Mulkins said he plans to load up his MetroCard in advance of the hikes.
Riders will be able to take advantage of the 5% bonus on per-ride cards through Saturday, but will have some limitations if they want to load up on unlimited passes. All unlimited cards purchased before April 21 must be swiped and activated by April 29 in order to take full advantage of them, meaning the last day anyone can use a 30-day pass bought for $121 is May 28, according to MTA spokesman Andrei Berman.
MTA officials have worked to justify the fare hikes with progressive service improvements and cost-cutting measures across the agency. MTA heads last week said subway service is getting better, noting that weekday on-time performance hit 78% in March, its highest monthly mark since November 2013.
Still, with more than 20% of weekday trains still running more than five minutes behind schedule, the average New Yorker with a daily twoway commute will be behind schedule at least twice a week.