NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority will increase fares on subways, commuter trains, and buses effective Aug. 20, following approval of the new fares by the MTA board on Wednesday.
The fare increases are the first since 2019. They are notable because they end a period in which most transit agencies have been reluctant to raise fares as they attempt to lure riders back after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The board also moved to continue or adjust some special fares, and moved to pursue policies to address policies on fare and toll evasion recommended by a blue-ribbon panel. A rundown of those actions:
Fares go up
The base subway and bus fare will increase to $2.90 from $2.75. Single subway and bus rides will increase from $3 to $3.25; seven-day unlimited-ride MetroCards will increase from $33 to $34, and 30-day unlimited MetroCards will rise from $127 to $132. Those using the OMNY tap-to-pay system will have their costs capped at $34 every seven days.
On the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad, individual tickets will see a maximum increase of $.50 per trip; monthly and weekly tickets will increase by up to 4.5%. The off-peak discount will be standardized at 26% across both railroads; it had been 25% on Metro-North and 27.5 on the LIRR. There will be no increases on Metro-North’s Port Jervis and Pascack Valley lines, the two isolated West-of-Hudson lines that connect to New York City via NJ Transit routes.
Some special fares continue or expand
The CityTicket, which offered a $5 flat fare on commuter rail lines during off-peak periods for trips within New York City, will be extended to peak periods for $7. And the Combo Ticket, which covers a trip on both the LIRR and Metro-North for an additional $8, will also be continued.
Two special fare programs, the Atlantic Ticket ($5 one way and $60 weekly) and the 20-trip Peak ticket, will be discontinued.
Full details on fare changes are here.
Fare evasion moves
The report received by the MTA earlier this year estimated that the agency lost $285 million in 2022 to fare evasion on subways [see “New York MTA releases report …,” Trains News Wire, May 18, 2023]. In response, the MTA is addressing unauthorized use of emergency gates, replacing key-access locks and deploying more civilian gate guards. The agency is also preparting a Request for Information on new gates that will be easier to use and harder to evade. The MTA is also working to address the $40 million lost through fare evasion by LIRR and Metro-North passengers who fail to activate a mobile ticket or do not have a paper ticket collected.
More on the fare and toll evasion effort is available here.
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