Lawmakers Line Up Against Idea of MTA Fare Hike

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Governor Paterson and Mayor Bloomberg are condemning the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s plans to institute a second fare hike in as many years, and calling on the state to look into alternatives for raising funds for the agency, including collecting taxes on cigarettes sold at New York Indian reservations.

“Another fare hike this soon after the last fare hike, just in my opinion, is not wise,” Mr. Paterson said at a press conference yesterday, adding that the MTA should look at its books once more. “This just cannot become the new way that the MTA solves problems: Every time there is an issue, pass along the increase.”

Messrs. Paterson and Bloomberg said the proposed fare hike, which is expected to be announced at the MTA’s board meeting today as part of its 2009 preliminary budget, passes the burden of the agency’s problems off on riders when solutions should be sought within the agency.

“Until we’re convinced they’re doing more with less, we certainly wouldn’t support a fare increase,” Mr. Bloomberg said in a separate press conference at City Hall yesterday.

The exact amount of the proposed fare hike, which would go into effect next July, is not known, but the MTA’s preliminary budget is expected to include an additional $200 million in fare revenue — an 8% increase from current fare revenue levels. The new budget, which must be approved by the agency’s board by December, also calls for $300 million in assistance from the state and city, a proposal Mr. Paterson called “understandable.”

Mr. Bloomberg said the city has no additional money to provide the MTA. He also said that if the agency can’t sufficiently cut back its expenses without government funding, it would be showing “poor management.” He encouraged the state-run agency try to find new sources of income, and specifically pointed to a tax on cigarette sales at state Indian reservations, a strategy he predicted would bring in between $200 million and $300 million a year.

The MTA’s 2009 budget deficit is pegged at close to $900 million — just six months after agency officials predicted a budget shortfall of $200 million, according to published reports.

The chief lawyer of the Straphangers Campaign, Gene Russianoff, said it was unrealistic to think the MTA could simply manage its way out of such a large deficit. He said the city should infuse more money into the agency; it funds 4% of the MTA’s current $5.8 billion operating budget.

“The city now gives so little to a transit system that makes New York possible, it’s like they are jumping the turnstile,” Mr. Russianoff said in a statement.

The Assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver, also said he strongly objected to the proposed fare hike and called on the state comptroller, Thomas DiNapoli, to audit the MTA to determine whether another fare hike is necessary and identify possible cost-cutting measures.

The only other time the MTA has instituted consecutive fare hikes was in 1980 and 1981. The new fare hike would include subways, buses, commuter railroads, and tolls for bridges and tunnels.


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