12 NOVEMBER 26, 2020 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Fare increases won’t save the MTA
It comes as no surprise that the
MTA is considering possible fare
increases this time of year; they
generally occur every two years,
and the last one occurred in the
spring of 2019.
Back then, the fare increase
sought to keep the MTA flush with
cash needed to fund its operations
and keep the system in good repair.
But the fare increase sought this
time around might be considered
an integral part of the authority’s
very survival.
The MTA is billions of dollars
in the red, thanks to the COVID-19
pandemic that saw subway ridership
plunge by 90 percent in March
and April. Commuters have slowly
returned to the system in the summer
and fall as the city reopened, but
they threaten to disappear again as
the second wave of COVID-19 hits
New York City hard.
While the MTA loses revenue, it’s
paying tens of millions to operate
at nearly full speed anyway to keep
the city moving. It’s also laboring to
keep the entire system disinfected
every night.
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The MTA is in dire need of a massive federal bailout that also defers planned fare increases by a year.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
And thanks to spiteful Republicans
in the White House and Senate,
neither the MTA nor the city have
seen a new infusion of much-needed
federal cash in months.
Even with fare increases on the
table, it won’t be enough for the MTA
to close their budget deficit and avoid
the “doomsday budget” cuts to labor
and service that the board outlined
at its Nov. 18 meeting.
Still, the MTA pushes forth with
myriad fare increase proposals for
the authority and public to consider
— from bumping up the base fare by
2 to 4 percent, to even eliminating
seven-day and 30-day unlimited
passes.
There’s never a good time for a
fare hike, let alone now, with ridership
coming off the pandemic nadir
and the city struggling to stay open.
We get the MTA’s desperation for
funding, but the authority must
ensure that subways and buses are
affordable for all to ride.
Every extra quarter for a fare, or
extra dollar spent on an unlimited
pass, just sucks more from the commuters
who are also paying payroll
taxes and other fees to the MTA —
and who are also struggling mightily
today.
The simple solution is the only one
for the MTA and for the city: A massive
federal bailout that also defers
planned fare increases by a year.
It must happen, and the incoming
Biden administration must do what
the outgoing Trump administration
won’t.
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