New York subway fare could soon top $4 to offset steep drop in riders

NEW YORK – The price of a New York City subway ride could rise to just over US$3 in less than three years as transit leaders consider raising fares for the first time since before the pandemic began.Ridership has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the state agency that runs the city’s subway and buses, has said it could face a budget gap of nearly US$3 billion by 2025.

Many people have stayed away because of continuing fears over the coronavirus and a shift to remote work. The safety of the system is also a source of rising anxiety after a series of high-profile attacks on platforms and trains. Even if it imposes higher fares, the authority anticipates a US0 million deficit next year. PHOTO: REUTERS

Transit advocates have urged Ms Hochul to earmark more money for the system in the state budget, which will be hashed out early next year.Beyond raising costs for riders, the limited options available to New York transit leaders include laying off workers and cutting service. In 2020, at the height of the pandemic and before the federal aid arrived, the authority proposed slashing subway service by 40 per cent, eliminating some bus routes and cutting service on the remaining ones by a third.

Some government watchdogs say that fare increases, along with more efficient financial practices, are necessary to keep the authority in good fiscal health. Critics of the authority have accused it of spending excessively and employing too many people. The authority is pursuing new sources of revenue. Officials are moving closer to adopting a congestion-pricing programme that would charge drivers who enter Manhattan below 60th Street a toll as high as US$23. The proceeds would finance improvements to the transit network. In August, the authority released an environmental assessment of the plan that officials are considering.

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