Some things aren’t desired, but they are inevitable, like getting older. And so it goes for fare hikes for transit. In a month’s time the price for a ride on the subway or bus will climb 15 cents. That 30 cents a day isn’t going to bust anyone, but the pennies do add up to dollars for riders. And — and this is the whole point — they add up for the MTA, which needs the additional farebox, in the millions, to keep the wheels on.
Across the river in New Jersey, NJTransit goes for years and years without a fare hike, starving the agency of necessary revenues. Eventually, when the fare hikes can be postponed no longer by the governor, there are huge jumps in the fares. The exercise only damages the financial integrity of NJT (which is facing a catastrophic fiscal reckoning) and souring passengers with service cuts coupled with wallet-smacking fare hikes.
Dick Ravitch, who twice saved the subways, proposed in 2008 what we call the Ravitch rule: regular, inflation-based fare hikes every other year. His advice was dutifully followed until COVID scrambled everything and then there was a bit of a rookie mistake by Gov. Hochul, with an election-year fare hike delay.
Even though Ravitch died a few weeks ago, his excellent idea on fares survives him. The MTA on Wednesday approved a 4% fare hike — that’s the 15 cents per ride — and there are now planned 4% increases for 2025 and 2027. Absent another pandemic, MTA Chair Janno Lieber must stick to that schedule.
So what do passengers get for their extra 15 cents, or five bucks on a 30-day MetroCard or $1 for a 7-day MetroCard? They should get a safe, clean, reliable ride, with stations that are presentable and rail cars and buses that are comfortable. Breakdowns should be rare and service should not be cut.
The added money that straphangers are plunking into the farebox will be joined with a modest tax increase authorized by the Legislature (thank you, Gov. Hochul) that should keep transit on sound financial footing despite the fact that COVID and work from home has disappeared a third of the passengers (and probably half of peak rush hour commuters).
New Jersey may choose to risk the health of its mass transit network, but for New York it would be putting a knife to our throats. We need clean water and safe streets and good schools and we need an efficient way to move millions of people around this city.
We don’t ask New Yorkers to think about all of that when the fare creeps up next month, in fact we hope they barely notice the extra pennies. We also hope that they barely notice their bus or subway or commuter rail ride, as they don’t have to wait long and their trip is quick and uneventful.
The subway is an irreplaceable asset that New York cannot function without. It must be there, in good working condition, even if you have never taken it or used to be a daily commuter pre-COVID and now rarely venture into the stations. Millions rely on the trains (and buses) and millions more rely on them. Put that way, 15 cents is a bargain.
