(The following story by Steve Ritea appeared on the Newsday website on December 19.)
NEW YORK — Fares on the Long Island Rail Road will increase an average of 4 percent in March, the MTA Board decided Wednesday, socking riders systemwide with a round of hikes supporters billed as moderate but opponents dubbed premature.
In approving fare hikes that also affect straphangers and drivers who use MTA’s bridges and tunnels, the board rejected an offer by dozens of state lawmakers to try and wrestle enough funds free of state coffers to avert the increases. The lawmakers asked the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to delay a vote until after the state budget passes in April.
But MTA Chief Elliot Sander called that a gamble, noting $1.5 billion the agency has already requested from Albany during the next two years to finance operations and various projects. Stalling a fare hike beyond its March implementation could lead to larger increases later, he said.
Critics said the MTA cannot fairly ask riders to pay more without committing to $28 million in proposed service improvements, which would include additional peak hour trains on the LIRR. Agency officials said they’ll see how revenues look in March before greenlighting those improvements.
“Riders are willing to help lift the system, but they don’t see anyone lifting beside them,” said Bill Henderson, executive director of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee, which represents riders systemwide.
Dozens of riders packed the meeting room yesterday, many wielding signs that read: “MTA: A Fare Hike is Unfair.”
The board rejected an amendment by member Mitch Pally of Suffolk to hold off imposing the increase until June, but only he and board vice chair Andrew Saul supported it.
Moments later, the board voted, 12-2, to approve the fare increases, with both men opposed. Only Saul opposed a separate motion to raise MTA bridge and tunnel tolls.
State Sen. Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) said he was “disappointed” by the decision. Despite “a bipartisan commitment to provide the state resources necessary to avert future budget deficits the MTA has again demonstrated its disregard for the financial challenges facing suburban families,” he said in a statement.
The plan will push most LIRR and Metro-North fares up from 3.76 percent to 4.25 percent.
The plan approved Wednesday increases the cost of a 30-day unlimited use MetroCard from $76 to $81. Bonuses on pay-as-you-ride MetroCards, meanwhile, will drop from 20 percent to 15 percent.
MTA officials acknowledge that could leave riders who buy a $10 MetroCard, for example, with an awkward $1.50 left over after five rides.
MTA bridge and tunnel tolls, meanwhile, increase up to 3.8 percent for E-ZPass users and by 25 or 50 cents for cash-paying drivers.
Fares on LIRR and Metro-North will increase March 1, with new subway and bus fares kicking in March 2. Tolls jump on MTA bridges and tunnels March 16.
“Nobody likes to pay more, but if you want a service, you’re going to have to pay for it,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said after the vote Wednesday. “It’s the right thing to do.”
(Staff writer Karla Schuster contributed to this report.)