logo
MTA set to hike fares in latest crunch on subway, LIRR and Metro-North riders

MTA set to hike fares in latest crunch on subway, LIRR and Metro-North riders

New York Post3 days ago
Fares for Big Apple subways and buses could jump to $3 by the start of next year, Metropolitan Transportation Authority leaders said Wednesday as the cash-strapped agency keeps squeezing riders.
The increase from $2.90 would go into effect on Jan. 4 but still needs to be approved by the full MTA board.
Subway and bus patrons aren't the only ones facing a price crunch.
3 Fares for NYC subways and buses could jump to $3 by the start of the new year.
Christopher Sadowski
3 Metro-North and Long Island Railroad riders could also face a 4.4% bump on their tickets.
Don Pollard/Office Governor Hochul
3 MTA chief Janno Lieber defended the plan to price hikes by declaring that commuting costs are not contributing to New Yorkers' affordability struggles.
Gregory P. Mango
Metro-North and Long Island Railroad customers could face a 4.4% bump on train tickets while tolls on various city bridges and tunnels may also see an increase, MTA officials said at the meeting.
Controversial congestion pricing fees though are expected to remain the same at a cool $9 during peak hours.
MTA chief Janno Lieber defended the plan to price hikes during a press conference and declared that commuting costs are not contributing to New Yorkers' affordability struggles.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Hochul blames ‘lack of investments' for MTA's hellish service meltdowns, even as bloated transit agency eyes fare hike to $3
Hochul blames ‘lack of investments' for MTA's hellish service meltdowns, even as bloated transit agency eyes fare hike to $3

New York Post

time8 hours ago

  • New York Post

Hochul blames ‘lack of investments' for MTA's hellish service meltdowns, even as bloated transit agency eyes fare hike to $3

Just throw more money at the problem! Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday blamed decades-long 'lack of investments' in subway infrastructure for hellish service meltdowns this week amid stifling heat and torrential downpours — even as she directed MTA officials to conduct a 'pretty much full review' of the issues. Hochul, standing alongside Metropolitan Transportation Authority honcho Janno Lieber, acknowledged the repeated failures had left straphangers running late or frustrated. 4 Gov. Kathy Hochul, in a press conference, addressed the reasons for the subway meltdowns this week were due to a 'lack of investments' in subway infrastructure. Matt Roberts/Shutterstock 'I don't want any person to feel as if they aren't getting first-rate service, so I've directed Janno and his team to provide a pretty much full review of what occurred this week,' she said. Power outages at the West Fourth Street station during the morning commute on both Tuesday and Thursday caused travel nightmares for thousands of subway-riders, some of whom vowed to jump turnstiles to steal back their lost time. Hochul already appeared primed to point the finger at the 'lack of investments' in the subway system, despite the MTA raking ever-increasing billions of dollars over decades for infrastructure improvements, imposing a $9 congestion pricing toll and, this week, eyeing a fare increase to $3. The governor even touted the MTA's latest, record-breaking $68.4 billion capital plan for 2025-2029 as a step forward in fixing the infrastructure woes, specifically for electrical upgrades. 'That's why we're continuing the investments, $4 billion to upgrade the electrical system,' Hochul said during an unrelated press conference. The MTA plans to spend the $4 billion on power and electricity components over the next five years, according to the capital plan. This includes around $3 billion specifically for the system's 224 substations and 317 circuit breaker houses. 4 Multiple station outages occurred during the stifling heat and torrential thunderstorm that hit the Big Apple, including at West Fourth Street on Tuesday and Thursday. Oliya Scootercaster/FreedomNewsTV But even after the upgrades planned for in the most recent capital plan are complete, the MTA estimates a little more than a quarter, 27%, of substations will still be in poor or marginal condition, per the plan. 'I'm very annoyed,' Kate Whitman, a 26-year-old creative executive, said Friday, lamenting the proposed $3 fare. The shoddy subway service this week forced Whitman to shell out $80 in Ubers heading to work in Brooklyn and back from her West Village home. But she said she has been late to work multiple times because of poor subway service even before the troubles. 'I know the system is severely outdated. It's very obvious that it would be an extensive audit required, but, like, it's very clear that the money isn't being used very wisely at all.' 4 Commuters were frustrated, which even led to one subway rider shelling out up to $80 for Uber rides to get to their workplace and later on back home. Oliya Scootercaster/FreedomNewsTV MTA officials have sounded alarm bells in recent years about the subway system's decaying, often-century-old infrastructure. The budget for the transit agency's capital plan in 2000-2004 stood at just shy of $22 billion — and has only increased for each subsequent five-year cycle, records show. On-time performance during 2017 — which featured the notorious 'summer of hell' — hit a dismal 63%, data shows. Since then, on-time performance has improved significantly, hitting 89% in 2020. But that coincided with a nosedive in ridership because of the coronavirus pandemic, with total annual ridership in 2024 at about 1.2 billion — compared to roughly 1.7 billion each year before COVID, according to data. Lieber on Friday argued the subway system bounced back quickly from Thursday's torrential rainfall, noting all lines were back in service the next morning. He said the electrical issues at West Fourth Street will be addressed by the recent capital plan. 'You're talking about 100-year-old electrical infrastructure, cloth-covered wires that are from our great-grandparents era that nobody went to update, and we just can't live with that anymore,' he said. In 2020, only 60% of substations were in a state of good repair. But despite spending a massive $2.6 billion from 2020 to 2024 to improve electrical infrastructure, that number only improved to 64% of substations being in a state of good repair. 4 Metropolitan Transportation Authority honcho Janno Lieber said the subway resumed with regular service on Friday. James Messerschmidt Substations during that period appeared to be deteriorating faster than MTA crews could fix them. The widespread transit woes — including yet more flooding in the subways — this week only highlighted the mixed results from the MTA's spending. But Lieber was quick to note that the MTA's measures of subway and commuter train rider satisfaction have greatly increased this year. 'Customer satisfaction with subways is up 8%, Long Island Rail Road is up is up 5%, Metro-North is up 4%,' he said. 'Customers before this week — and you know, this week has definitely taken a hit on customer satisfaction — are recognizing the improvements that have taken place. We have to get them back to that level of comfort.' Not everyone was buying it. 'New Yorkers pay a dizzying number of taxes and fees towards the MTA and, yet, they can't even keep the power on,' said state Sen. Jim Skoufis (D-Orange). 'Until their leadership brings radical reform to the system – and stops depending on annual bailouts from Albany – taxpayers will continue getting ripped off and riders will continue to be let down with substandard transit.' Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island) highlighted the issues by posting a clip showing straphangers climbing on subway gates to avoid flooding. 'Pathetic!' she wrote.

NYC Interborough Express enters design phase for Brooklyn-Queens light rail
NYC Interborough Express enters design phase for Brooklyn-Queens light rail

CBS News

time8 hours ago

  • CBS News

NYC Interborough Express enters design phase for Brooklyn-Queens light rail

The Interborough Express, New York City's first light rail system which would link Brooklyn and Queens, is another step closer to becoming a reality. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Friday the project to build the nation's busiest light rail system has entered the engineering and design phase. Renderings provide a glimpse into the future of transit between two of New York's most-populated, yet underserved communities. "A clean, fast, 14-mile light rail line. A connection between Brooklyn and Queens like never before. We're calling it the Interborough Express, IBX," Hochul said. The plan has been discussed for more than 30 years. But it's now moving into the next phase. "This means a lot of planning is going to occur. Looking at the stations, tracks, vehicles, signals, so we can get shovels in the ground and make this become a reality," the governor said. Hochul approved $2.75 billion in funding for the project back in April. It's aimed at reducing the travel time between Brooklyn and Queens to 32 minutes for more than 1 million New Yorkers and other commuters. "One of the things I love best about this project is that we get to get more transit out of the infrastructure we have," MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said. The IBX light rail would extend from Sunset Park, Brooklyn, to Jackson Heights, Queens, with a total of 19 new stations connecting to 17 subway lines. They would be the first new transit stations in Brooklyn since 1948 and Queens since 1988. The MTA is now coming up with an underground design for Metropolitan Avenue in Queens to, hopefully, make the area less prone to delays. "I think it would be great because the commute sometimes gets a little busy," Louisa Brenya, of Queens, said. Diana Arboleda, of Jackson Heights, is all too familiar with the current lengthy and inconvenient ways to get to Brooklyn from her home. "It's a hassle," she said. "This would help me a lot because the commute is time consuming," Kasheen Buckner, of Brooklyn, said. IBX is expected to become the busiest light rail system in the country, with 48 million riders annually.

To make NY more affordable, Gov. Hochul needs to ditch her all-electric plan and push natural gas
To make NY more affordable, Gov. Hochul needs to ditch her all-electric plan and push natural gas

New York Post

time10 hours ago

  • New York Post

To make NY more affordable, Gov. Hochul needs to ditch her all-electric plan and push natural gas

New York has some of the highest residential and commercial construction costs, and ranks in the top 10 most expensive states to live. Yet rather than focus on ways to make it more affordable for residents and attractive for investments, Gov. Kathy Hochul is pushing to make gas stoves in new buildings illegal. Go figure. Her 2023 All-Electric Buildings Act bans natural-gas hookups in new buildings that are seven stories or less — meaning no gas stoves, hot-water heaters, furnaces, or any other gas appliances are allowed, starting in 2029. This is a serious blow to freedom, common sense, and the future of the Empire State. Advertisement It's even worse considering the state of New York's electric grid. Energy prices are roughly 33% higher than the national average. A 2023 study by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission warned New York's grid is on the brink of collapse, and it's only luck that has kept the state from total catastrophe and loss of life. If such a damning FERC study were released by the Biden administration, one can only speculate how much worse the reality could be. Advertisement Meanwhile, there's no reason to push people off natural gas. In fact, most of the world is desperate for more of it, not less. Germany just committed to a three-year purchase of US gas. Japan invested $44 billion in a natural-gas pipeline in Alaska. A few days ago, President Donald Trump announced a $750 billion deal for American energy, including natural gas, with the European Union. Advertisement New York seems alone in rejecting the economic benefits and the scientific evidence. So much for 'trust the science.' In addition to the strain put on the grid by forgoing reliable, affordable natural gas and mandating electric appliances and machinery, New York continues to entice the construction of power-grabbing data centers. Recently, it offered half a billion dollars in taxpayer-provided subsidies to lure a new data center in Genesee that'll consume 250 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 100,000 homes. Hochul's all-electric plan represents two big punches to the face: First, it makes already expensive New York even more costly. Advertisement Second, it makes an already vulnerable electric grid even more precarious by demanding more from it. Like the mathematical certainty of the sinking of the Titanic, New York's electric grid, under Hochul's 'leadership,' is headed for collapse. Not if, but when. Yet easy fixes can relieve the strain on the grid and lower costs — and provide political boons for the governor ahead of her reelection run next year. First, delay the all-electric plan. Encourage natural gas for new construction instead. The more appliances like hot water heaters and stoves that run on natural gas, the less the strain on the grid. Second, fast-track construction of the Constitution Pipeline. This project will bring natural gas from Pennsylvania into upstate New York and New England, and offer a reliable, affordable energy source to millions. Yes, environmental groups will holler, but most voters will back the governor when they see their utility hikes simmering down. Advertisement Third, reopen the Indian Point nuclear-power plant, the 3,200-megawatt facility unwisely closed by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2021. This facility is now being decommissioned, a process that'll last more than 30 years. But getting it back online — as massive a project as that might be — is certainly faster and cheaper than the governor's plan to build new nuclear facilities. Energy is everything, and sound energy policy will not just make the state more affordable and livable, and the grid more reliable; it'll make Hochul more electable. Like the grid, her political standing is precarious. More than half (53%) of New Yorkers oppose Hochul's gas ban. Even among fellow Democrats, less than half (48%) believe the state is moving in the right direction. Advertisement New York's path to a better energy future, greater economic development, lower costs for residents and a more secure grid is clear. The first step is stopping this illogical ban on natural gas. Does Hochul have the political will and savvy to pull it off? Advertisement Daniel Turner is the founder and executive director of Power The Future, a national nonprofit organization that advocates for American energy jobs. Email: daniel@

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store