Public hearings on planned MTA fare hikes, which now seem as regular an occurrence as the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade or Fleet Week, begin Monday. The fare proposals, which can be viewed on the MTA’s website, will reduce the “bonus” on pay-per-ride MetroCards and increase the price of unlimited MetroCards, LIRR and Metro-North fares, and tolls on MTA bridges and tunnels. Use of “unlimited” MetroCards may also be capped; for example, under one proposal a 30-day MetroCard could be used for no more than 90 trips (transfers would not count).
The fare hike may be the least of Long Island Bus riders’ concerns. Another annual ritual, the fight between Nassau County and the MTA over how much funding each should provide for LI Bus, has escalated to dangerous levels. The MTA has said it may pull all of its funding to LI Bus, decimating the system. This morning, Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano called for the next governor to fire MTA CEO Jay Walder. Tri-State has said that major changes to the LI Bus funding structure should wait for the results of an MTA regional bus study that is part of the agency’s 2010-14 capital program.
This latest fare hike was planned as part of the 2009 funding package that included the regional payroll tax and was supposed to put the MTA on stable financial footing. But, as TSTC’s Veronica Vanterpool pointed out while testifying before the MTA board in July, circumstances have changed since then. State officials took $143 million in statutorily dedicated transit funds for the budget, and the payroll tax has brought in much less than predicted. The result was the unexpected service cuts put into effect earlier this year.
At the July meeting, TSTC’s Vanterpool said it was time to reconsider measures like congestion pricing or East River bridge tolls, calling it “inequitable to keep asking transit riders to contribute more to the system while drivers, who reap the congestion-busting benefits of our transit system, can still travel into the densest city in America for free.”
Pointing to the state’s theft of transit funds and the lack of solutions from city, state, and federal politicians, she told attendees that:
You can’t just blame the MTA. Blame Albany, blame the City of New York, blame Congress for not passing a $2 billion dollar emergency transit funding package. Elected officials who simply point fingers at the MTA are dodging their responsibility to ensure our region’s transit service remains safe, affordable, and reliable. Voters angry about the recent service cuts … should ask candidates how they plan on dealing with the MTA’s financial crisis.
After the jump, find times and dates, locations, and more information about the public hearings.
MTA Public Hearing Information
Registration for hearings can be done at the hearing or in advance online. Comments are also accepted by e-mail through the MTA’s website. All hearings begin at 6 pm.
Manhattan: Sept. 13, Cooper Union (Great Hall), 7 E 7th Street, New York, NY.
Orange County: Sept. 13, Hilton Garden Inn, 15 Crossroads Court, Newburgh, NY.
Bronx: Sept. 15, Hostos Community College (Main Theater), 450 Grand Concourse, Bronx, NY.
Staten Island: Sept. 16, St. George Theatre, 35 Hyatt Street, Staten Island, NY.
Nassau County: Sept. 16, Garden City Hotel, 45 Seventh Street, Garden City, NY.
Queens: Sept. 20, Sheraton LaGuardia East Hotel, 135-20 39th Avenue, Flushing, NY.
Suffolk County: Sept. 20, Suffolk County Legislature, 725 Veterans Memorial Highway, Smithtown, NY.
Brooklyn: Sept. 21, Brooklyn Museum (Cantor Auditorium), 200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY.
Westchester County: Sept. 21, White Plains Performing Arts Center, 11 City Place, White Plains, NY.
[…] The Circus Is in Town: MTA Fare Hike Hearings Start Monday (MTR) […]
I really hope they don’t hike the MTA rates – I can barely afford it now as it is.
When viewing the State’s theft of transit funds (pointed out by TSTC’s Miss or Mrs. Vanterpool written by Steven Higashide of the ‘Mobilizing the Region/News & Opinion from the Tri-State Transportation Campaign’). Please note: Why isn’t there any forms of “Checks & Balances” in the MTA running their business (like there is in Our Government/United States of America creating Constitution for Checks & Balances of the Government, so no one entity could dictate), on how the MTA; is using the public’s (hard to obtain) money (in these hardtimes) that’s supporting the MTA’s Business (The Transit Authority). The MTA is a Government Business and should have a check and balance format. The Constitution, “We people, by the people and for the people,” should create something to watch the Transit spending; because right now, ‘we just have to take MTA’s word on it.’ I’m facing a personal problem with MTA Transit Authority. I received some tickets as a youth and their system (The MTA). Does not release all of that person’s record information to that person. keeping him or her in a cycle of payments. And there isn’t any caps/limit on their fines. How do we; stop this practice MTA is using, for our future children’s benefit? “A house divided; is a house that can’t stand.” Let’s stand together against the MTA’s unfair treatment.
I have been trying to look for legal defense to represent me against the MTA Transit Authority on the website ad’s and there isn’t any (constantly referring me to an attorney that has nothing to do with the MTA problems I’m having. The Transit Authority has a court system for the tickets that are distribute throughout the Metropolitan Area. And I can’t find legal support in my matter; obtaining all my tickets records, so I can rectify my wrongs as a youth and be free from the constant withholding of my income tax returns by the Transit Authority.