Subway Fare, Verrazano Bridge Toll Hikes – Now With Pretty Charts!

By on February 28, 2013  Featured story, Traffic & Transit
Feb 282013
 

This Sunday, March 3, getting from Point A to Point B will cost just a little bit more than it did the day before: the long-planned increases in fares and tolls will go into effect at 12:00am midnight.

To help visualize the changes, we’ve put together a few handy graphics.

MTA 2013 Fares For subway and bus riders, the base fare goes up a quarter to $2.50. The cost of commuting by subway will go up between $4 and $8 dollars per month, depending on whether you use a 7- or 30-day pass ($30 and $112, respectively). Express bus commuters will pay an extra $20 per month, as 7-day passes are now $55.

NEW FOR 2013 - The MTA will now charge a $1 surcharge for every new Metrocard purchased. This can be avoided by refilling your existing Metrocard. Riders who buy 7- and 30-day passes never had (or needed) this option before, but now any vending machine or token booth clerk can refill these unlimited-use passes. (The $1 card fee doesn’t apply to reduced-fare passes, or for Metrocards purchased from third parties, such as employer pre-tax transit programs.) Continue reading »

Beginning March 3, Prepare To Shell Out $15 For Verrazano, $2.75 For Subway

By on February 15, 2013  Featured story, Traffic & Transit
Feb 152013
 
Ah, the "good" old days. (Photo: Brian Hedden/Bay Ridge Odyssey)

Ah, the “good” old days. (Photo: Brian Hedden/Bay Ridge Odyssey)

Despite widespread criticism by commuters, activists, and elected officials alike, the MTA has announced that a series of planned toll and fare hikes will start to take effect on March 3.

Beginning at approximately 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 3, cash tolls on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge will rise to $15.

Of course those with an E-ZPass who live on the Staten Island side will pay “$6.36 to cross the Verrazano for the first two round trips of the month, and an even $6 on the third and subsequent trips,” writes reporter Ken Paulsen on Staten Island Advance’s website – while Bay Ridge residents who live within a stone’s throw of the world-famous span will still have to pay the full E-ZPass price of $10.66 per trip, a $1.06 increase.

But wait, that’s not all!

Via silive.com, here’s a breakdown of subway and bus fare hikes – because life in New York City was apparently not quite expensive enough without subsidizing folks in the ‘Burbs:

  • The seven day Express Bus Plus MetroCard will cost $55.
  • The seven-day regular unlimited MetroCard will rise to $30.
  • The 30-day regular unlimited MetroCard jumps to $112.
  • Single-ride tickets, only sold at vending machines, will cost $2.75.
  • A bonus of 5 percent is added to MetroCards with purchases of $5 or more.

There will be an additional fee of $1 for the purchase of new MetroCards, except for cards purchased at out-of-system vendors and for seniors.

Gentile To MTA: Stop Verrazano Toll Hike, Waive Fares For Hurricane Relief Workers, Bring ‘Discount Equity’ To Southwest Brooklyn

By on November 29, 2012  Featured story, Traffic & Transit
Nov 292012
 

At a public hearing yesterday on Staten Island, City Councilman Vincent Gentile spoke out against a proposed Verrazano Bridge toll hike, and called on MTA officials to waive tolls for Hurricane Sandy relief workers driving in from Brooklyn.

At the meeting, which took place at the College of Staten Island [2800 Victory Boulevard], Gentile expanded on the argument that the so-called Staten Island discount should apply to Bay Ridge residents. Continue reading »

MTA Fare Hike: Malliotakis Almost Says Something Constructive, Golden Doesn’t

By on October 17, 2012  Traffic & Transit
Oct 172012
 

Subway fares and bridge tolls are going up in March 2013. (Photo credit: Brian Hedden)

Earlier this week, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced increases in subway fares and bridge tolls planned for March 2013. There are multiple plans under consideration for subway and bus fares, where the base fare may increase to $2.50, and the cost of a monthly MetroCard will increase to anywhere between $109 and $125 (from $104). The toll on the Verrazano Bridge will increase to $15. Staten Island residents will continue to enjoy a very generous discount not available to Brooklyn residents.

The reasons for the increase are driven by what the MTA describes as uncontrollable expenses, such as debt service, rising faster than the rate of inflation. Under prior MTA Chairman Jay Walder, the agency reduced “controllable” expenses by $525 million annually.

The announcement was met by sharp opposition from state politicians, including Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island/Bay Ridge) and State Senator Marty Golden (R-Bay Ridge). In a written statement, Malliotakis said: Continue reading »