The introduction of the monthly pass meant that commuters could use the MTA for “free,” on their days off, to visit friends, farmers’ markets, museums, beaches, new neighborhoods.Īnd they did. So why pay for a monthly pass? The reason was simple: “free” rides after your commute. The MTA introduced the monthly pass in 1998, and the entire point was to encourage the “casual rider.”Īny pre-COVID-19 commuter could do the math and see which is more economical (and most did): If you travel to and from work each day, five days a week, the cost of a monthly pass versus the cost of pay-per-ride - $124 - was about even. Andrew Cuomo, justifies this on the grounds that the “casual rider” should pay more, as opposed to the essential worker paying by the ride. Larry Schwartz, a board member appointed by Gov.

But the MTA is offering an “out”: Instead of increasing the per-ride fare, it would eliminate 30-day passes, currently $127. Someone who can afford the monthly upkeep on a car can better afford a toll hike than can someone who is taking the subway or a bus.īut what about subway and bus fares? The MTA might raise fares by 9 percent, increasing the base $2.75 fare to nearly $3. Last week, bridge and tunnel traffic on MTA crossings, like the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, was down by “only” 16 percent compared to 2019, while subway traffic was down by 70 percent. Though people are using all modes of transportation to a lesser degree during the pandemic, they are still driving around more than they are taking the subways and buses. One part of this is fine, if not great: Raise tolls on bridges and tunnels by 8 percent, to an average of $6.70 one way. The MTA proposes to fill part of the gap - $148 million - with a fare increase on subways and buses and a toll increase on bridges and tunnels. Even the smartest of budget cuts can’t fix this - and you know the MTA, because it won’t take on its powerful labor unions, won’t make smart budget cuts. The MTA’s problem: Seven out of 10 of its regular riders are still missing, worse on commuter rail. That would undo two decades’ worth of urban progress.Īt last week’s board meeting, the authority showed a $6.1 billion funding shortfall for 2021, well more than a third of next year’s $16.1 billion budget.

But no, it shouldn’t eliminate monthly subway and bus passes to raise revenue, as it suggested last week. But the MTA does control a big part of its own fate: fare and toll increases. The state-controlled Metropolitan Transportation Authority has a lot of problems - and will need a Biden bailout.

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