MTA holds 1st public hearing on proposed $3 subway and bus fares
New Yorkers have a chance to weigh in on the MTA's proposed fare hikes this week.
The first of three public hearings was held Tuesday night in Brooklyn. The other two sessions will be held Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. CLICK HERE for all the details.
MTA wants to raise subway and bus fares to $3
Under the proposed fare hikes, subway and bus rides would cost $3, up from the current $2.90. There were also be a 25-cent increase for express buses.
Monthly and weekly tickets for the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad would also increase up to 4.5%, and drivers would pay 20-60 cents more at MTA bridges and tunnels.
The board will vote on the fare and toll increases this fall. If approved, the hikes would take effect early next year to align with the launch of a full tap-and-go system on subways and buses.
Here's what riders have to say
MTA CEO Janno Lieber says the agency is being proactive in taking care of the day-to-day costs of running transit, instead of waiting until the system fails.
"It needs as much money to maintain the system, to improve the system and also to do what our predecessors never did, which is to stop this hundred-year-old system from falling down," he said.
Some speakers at Tuesday's hearing voiced support for what they called moderate and small fare increases.
Other subway riders, however, feel it's getting more and more difficult to afford public transit, which they say should be the cheapest way to get around.
"I think that this has been, hopefully, a wake-up call to people to understand that in every aspect of our lives in the city, which is just becoming unmanageable for people to live, that that can only be addressed if people come together and organize," Brooklyn resident Roger Wareham said.
Wareham said he only recently found out about a program that offers half-price fares for eligible low-income residents.
"Half of the people who are eligible for it hadn't even registered for it 'cause a lot of people didn't know about it," he said. "We shouldn't be penalized because we're poor."
A protest outside MTA headquarters in Brooklyn called for fair fares.
"They're attempting to extract more money from working and poor people at a time when we literally cannot afford it. We're being stretched in every which way," said an individual with the Fair Fares Coalition.
The MTA has been implementing small fare hikes and adjustments every two years or so since 2009. Due to the pandemic, however, the practice was put on hold in 2021, and resumed in 2023.
Update on Second Avenue Subway expansion
The MTA Board made another big decision earlier this week, approving a massive $1.9 billion contract to begin construction on Phase 2 of the Second Avenue Subway expansion in East Harlem.
Phase 2 includes work to bore a new tunnel, rehab an existing one and create new stations.
The MTA says it will improve and reduce commute times for area residents by creating two new stations on Second Avenue at 106th and 116th streets, as well as extending Q train service to a third new station at 125th Street and Lexington Avenue that will connect to the 4, 5 and 6 trains, as well as Metro-North.
The expansion means some New Yorkers now face eviction by eminent domain, but many say they understand the need to improve mobility in the community.
Phase 2 is being funded, in part, by revenue from congestion pricing. The MTA estimates the project will generate some 70,000 jobs, with a target of 20% of those being local hires from East Harlem.
While preliminary work on the project will begin this year, heavy construction will start in 2026 and the tunnel boring will take place in 2027. The goal is to get trains moving by 2032.