(Newsday published the following article by Joie Tyrrell.)
NEW YORK — Long Island Rail Road riders will pay 25 percent more and subway fares will jump to $2 under a plan to be considered and probably approved today by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
Commuters and local politicians said yesterday that even though no cuts in service are expected, the MTA will make the workday commute way too costly.
“I am totally outraged,” said commuter Ted Rallis of East Setauket, who had helped collect more than 600 signatures against any fare hike greater than 10 percent. “How dare the MTA say 25 percent and that is the end of the story.”
In what will be the first fare increase since 1995, MTA chairman Peter Kalikow has recommended an average 25 percent increase without service cuts or layoffs for the railroad. Long Island Bus fares would jump to $2. Tolls on the MTA’s major bridges and tunnels are expected to rise by 50 cents as well. But no full-time token booths will close and no more than 62 part-time booths will close.
“First and foremost, our customers said that they did not want any service cuts,” Kalikow said.
Today’s vote will mark the end of the MTA’s effort to gather public input into the fare hike proposals. The new fares could be in place by May.
Initially, the MTA had unveiled three options: a 10 percent increase with severe service cuts, a 20 percent hike without service cuts and a 33 percent jump that would have given the authority a fiscal cushion.
Kalikow said the MTA received more than 4,000 e-mails and held 10 public hearings on the Island and in the city.
Yesterday, some commuters said they felt duped by the MTA because a 25 percent increase hadn’t been one of the options.
“I’m very upset,” said commuter Kristine Parrinelli, who also collected signatures. “Twenty-five percent wasn’t even mentioned as a proposal.”
Parrinelli, who commutes from Setauket to lower Manhattan, said her monthly commuting costs would jump from $214 to more than $300 if the board approves the 25 percent plan. In one of the LIRR’s busiest zones, Zone 7 which includes Hicksville, the monthly fare could jump by more than $38 to more than $190 a month.
Such steep prices could drive commuters away from the railroad or out of the city altogether, said Sen. Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre), who blasted the proposal as a “job-killing tax.” Rush-hour ridership has been on the decline, with 51.9 million rides in 2002 compared with 54.3 million in 2001.
“While we are all searching for dynamic and creative solutions to today’s fiscal challenges, this announcement signals that the MTA’s innovation is limited to harming commuters, deterring ridership and creating new barriers to economic recovery,” Skelos said.
It was unclear yesterday what type of discounts the MTA would offer, if any, for LIRR riders. MTA officials had discussed trimming some discounts last month and combining zones 10 and 11. They had also proposed offering discounts that encouraged advance ticket sales.
City Comptroller William Thompson Jr. and his state counterpart, Alan Hevesi, criticized the timing and asked the MTA to hold off on the vote. Both are auditing the MTA, which has come under fire for its shifting financial picture. The MTA now claims it faces a two-year, $1-billion deficit; it had earlier said the deficit reached $2.8 billion for 2003 and 2004.
Kalikow tried to sweeten the package, saying that MetroCard discounts would save subway and bus riders money. For example, riders will get a free ride after $10 in purchases instead of the current $15.
Still, commuters at Penn Station yesterday said the increases were too much to pay.
“Oh boy, that’s terrible,” said Jesse Benitez, of Queens Village. “I don’t think that’s right and it is more than most people can afford.”
College student Ariana Continanzi, of Oceanside, said she crammed her five days’ worth of classes at the School of Visual Arts into two partly because of the cost of commuting. “They don’t run on time,” Continanzi said. “They stop. They break down. And it’s too much.”