Dec 4, 2009 1 min read fare hikes

MTA Chief: No Fare Hikes In 2010

MTA will not raise fares in 2010, but is considering cutting services and staff to close the budget gap

MTA Chairman Jay H. Walder told reporters yesterday that the agency will avoid jacking prices next year, despite a $140 million cut from its budget.

“It is my intent to stay with the schedule of fare hikes that was agreed with the Legislature in May, which does not call for a fare hike in 2010,” he told reporters after a three-hour hearing in Lower Manhattan on the authority’s capital plan. “It is my intent to stay with that.”

Instead, the authority is looking at ways to tighten the belt in-house, and is weighing service cuts, worker layoffs, and maximizing other revenue sources to fill the gap.

Still, Walder says the agency will look to raise fares 7.5 percent in 2011 and 2013, as approved by Legislature.

(Photo courtesy of via William Darhy Flickr)