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MTA: Hey, Let's Make Monthly MetroCards $130!
By
Jaya Saxena
Published Aug 24, 2010
Modified Aug 24, 2010
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By
Jaya Saxena
Published Aug 24, 2010
Modified Aug 24, 2010
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The wild cards over at the MTA just sprung a third option for the fare hike on the monthly MetroCard. Last month their budget proposal suggested options for a $104 monthly MetroCard or a $99 "limited unlimited," which would give riders 90 rides over 30 days. But yesterday, MTA CEO Jay Walder threw a curve ball at straphangers, and suggested making the unlimited monthly card $130.
Apparently the idea was floated during a budget meeting last month, but not widely announced. And other plans include hiking the weekly MetroCard from $27 to $38. But an MTA spokesman said the "cheaper" options haven't been abandoned yet. They said in a statement, "The notice is written to allow enough flexibility for the board to incorporate public input in making its final decision. The goal is to increase revenues from fares and tolls by 7.5%, and the hearings are designed to elicit input on the best way to achieve that increase." But is the $130 suggestion just a part of the MTA's manipulative game?
Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign suggested that the MTA just now made the idea public so riders would be "grateful when they do the lower number." But if that turns out to just be wishful thinking, New Yorkers won't be too happy. Aurora Perez said of the possible new price, "Oh, my God, that's too much for me. That's a lot for me because I don't make a lot of money and I've got to use transportation every day." Others called it "preposterous" and "heinously high." The MTA said that if they chose the $130 option, they would also offer a cheaper, limited monthly option.
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bus
fare hike
Jay Walder
metrocard
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subway
unlimited metrocard
Jaya Saxena
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