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Unfare Hike: Disgruntled Straphangers Will Protest MTA By Swiping Strangers
By
Garth Johnston
Published Feb 28, 2013
Modified Feb 28, 2013
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By
Garth Johnston
Published Feb 28, 2013
Modified Feb 28, 2013
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Smarting over the MTA's fare hike that kicks in Sunday? Don't just complain about it on the tweetbooks, do something about it! Like, as one group is arguing, willfully keep money from the MTA's coffers.
The argument behind the "Swipe Back" campaign is ludicrously simple (if not necessarily air tight):
We’ve tried to talk to them. But they won’t listen. So we have to protest. We would boycott the subway, if we could. But since it’s an essential public service, we need it, to get to our jobs and live our lives.
So instead of boycotting, we find ways to express our protest, like this: If you use your unlimited card to swipe someone else in, then you’re effectively helping them boycott the fare hike, sort of like boycotting it forward.
Further, what they are proposing is (arguably) perfectly legal as you are giving swipes away as opposed to selling them (not that, we suspect, transit cops will care). To let people know you are down with giving your rides away they suggest you wear a "Swipe Back" pin, which they say they'll be handing out in stations around the city (more info on times and locations to come).
So what does the MTA think of this plan? Spokesman Adam Lisberg tells us:
The MTA is raising fares and tolls because our costs for employee healthcare, pension contributions, mandatory paratransit service, energy and other costs out of our control are rising far faster than the rate of inflation. We have cut our costs by more than $700 million, we have built a budget with net-zero wage increases for unionized employees, and we are implementing moderately higher fares and tolls.
If anyone thinks the best way to balance the MTA's budget is to reduce the amount of money we collect from customers, then their math is as bad as their logic.
Meanwhile, whatever you think of the "Swipe Back" campaign, the No Fare Hikes website has one thing worth anyone's time. That would be this fascinating map breaking down what the fare hike means in rough dollar amounts station by station. For instance, based on previous ridership, the First Avenue L stop will be making $147,409.85 a week after the hike kicks in! Cartography and subway finance buffs, this map's for you.
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