MTA to Hold Hearing on Proposed Fare Hikes

Residents are invited to attend a public hearing hosted by the MTA Thursday night to address proposed fare hikes for 2011.

The MTA is proposing to increase fare and toll revenues by 7.5 percent in January 2011. As proposed, this increase could mean as much as a 9.4 percent fare increase for Long Island Rail Road commuters.

Other proposed changes include reducing the time period during which certain ticket types are valid, increasing fees for certain ticket transactions, and eliminating the 2 percent Mail & Ride discount and the 4 percent MetroCard discount for joint purchase of monthly commutation tickets and MetroCards.

According to a statement on the MTA's website, "In the spring of 2009 a multi-year financial framework was developed to address the MTA's budget shortfalls in recognition of the vital role that mass transit plays in the region. Fare and toll increases were a key component of this overall strategy which also included enactment of new state taxes and fees to support the MTA. Fares and tolls were expected to rise in 2011 and 2013, and in each of these years the planned increases were to generate an additional 7.5 percent in new revenue."

"In light of recent service cuts, fare hikes and other steps, such as altering the expiration date on tickets, are clearly inappropriate," said Sen. Craig Johnson (D - Port Washington).  

Johnson questions the MTA's strategies.

"While the MTA says it has recognized the need to cut costs and streamline its operations, I am deeply concerned by the hiring of Diana Jones Ritter as an 'efficiency expert,'" he said, referring to the commissioner of the former New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities.

"The Senate Task Force on Government Efficiency, of which I am a member, this year released a report finding that OMRDD wasted millions of dollars under her watch," Johnson said. "This is clearly not a step in the right direction and the MTA should reexamine itself before taking any more actions that hurt LIRR commuters."

"The MTA has apparently decided that it has no obligation to provide good service at reasonable rates," said Councilman Fred Pollack (D - North Hempstead). "If the proposed fare hikes are approved, it will severely hurt many people who have no choice but to use the LIRR. And to increase fares while abandoning the residents of Nassau County makes this proposal even more outrageous."

In recent years commuters have incurred a 10 percent increase in June 2009, a 4 percent increase in March 2008 and an 8 percent increase in March 2005. Recent proposed fare hikes would take effect Jan 1., 2011.

Port Washington resident Jeff Siegel says the new schedule will hurt riders, especially those who commute off-hours. The MTA, he said, "shouldn't cut service indiscriminately," he noted.

"They just cut during the off hours, no matter the effect on riders," Siegel said. "Did they do a study?"

Perhaps eliminating a midday train but keeping the former pre-rush hour schedule would make more sense, Siegel pointed out.

But with service cuts and proposed fare hikes, people are angry, Siegel said, adding, "They're going to start taking their cars into the city, and cause congestion."

Peter Haynes, president of the LIRR Commuters Campaign has attended a few meetings in the past, but said he believes that the "MTA just goes through the motions of listening."

"Then they do whatever they want," he added "I think there are more productive actions to take against the MTA than attending meetings that are mandatory and just for show. They could establish a passengers advisory committee, where commuters and other interested passengers would be able to pass input to the MTA (and its sub agencies) on complaints, suggestions, etc. There would then be a formal review process and a resolution that would be publicly available on a website."

The hearing will take place at 6 p.m. on Thursday at the Garden City Hotel. Registration opens at 5 p.m. and closes at 9 p.m. Speakers can also register online at the MTA website, or by calling 212-878-7483.