24 THE QUEENS COURIER • NOVEMBER 26, 2020 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
editorial
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 fl ush with cash needed
to fund its operations and keep the system
THE QUEENS
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PRESIDENT & CEO
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VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS
JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS
BOB BRENNAN
ZACHARY GEWELB
NIRMAL SINGH
JACOB KAYE
ANGELICA ACEVEDO, JENNA BAGCAL, KATRINA MEDOFF,
CARLOTTA MOHAMED, BILL PARRY
CLIFF KASDEN, SAMANTHA SOHMER, ELIZABETH ALONI
DEBORAH CUSICK
CELESTE ALAMIN
MARIA VALENCIA
VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS
JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS
Schneps Media, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361
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Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Story: Neptune Diner to open new location on
Bayside’s Bell Boulevard
Summary: Neptune Diner will replace the former
Jackson Hole site at 35-01 Bell Blvd., in Bayside,
after the eatery permanently closed its doors
earlier this year.
Reach: 6,255 (as of 11/20/20)
in good repair. But the fare increase
sought this time around might be considered
an integral part of the authority’s
very survival.
Th e 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.
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 defi cit 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.
Th ere’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
aff ordable 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.
Th e 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.
The MTA is in dire need of a massive federal bailout that also defers planned fare increases by a year.
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