The MTA's various fare hikes for the NYC subways and buses, as well as its railroads, went into effect this weekend. Today, subway and bus base fares still cost $2, but higher-value pay-per-ride Metrocards have less of a bonus discount while weekly and monthly unlimited ride Metrocards are more expensive. You can read more about the fare hikes here, but two important notes: (1)Unlimited ride Metrocards purchased before March 2 are still valid as......

The MTA's various fare hikes are starting to go into effect next month (aka tomorrow). Tomorrow, Long Island Railroad and Metro-North fares are going up. Bridge and tunnel tolls are going up on March 16. And the doozy will be the NYC Transit subway and bus fare hikes which go into effect on Sunday, March 2. Expect tons of confused riders and weary MTA workers on Monday and for the next few weeks. The......

The board of the MTA voted this morning in favor of increasing the cost of multiple-ride Metrocards. According to NY1, the outcome of the vote was a foregone conclusion following the public agreement between Gov. Spitzer and Mayor Bloomberg that riders needed to pay more to ride subways and buses. The pair have effective control of ten of the 14 board members' votes. The cost of an unlimited monthly Metrocard will rise $5, from $76......

Mayor Bloomberg continued his whirlwind tour through Asia yesterday with a stop in Bali, Indonesia to talk to United Nations officials about the global effects of climate change. This is after a foray to China, that brought to mind Ed Koch's Beijing inspiration for bike paths in NYC to The New York Times' Clyde Haberman. Like NYC, Bali was the victim of a devastating terrorist attack that killed and injured hundreds of people. True......

So much for halting the hike! Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Spitzer have both given their approval of the MTA's proposed 4-7% fare hikes for subway and bus riders. The base fare will remain $2, but the unlimited Metrocard prices will increase. The Mayor (from China apparently) said, "Based on the information that my staff and I have received and reviewed over the past few weeks, I am now satisfied that the MTA budget is a......

Our MTA Webinar lunch plans are frozen at the moment. We sort of wish the "technical difficulties" prompt was accompanied by a "signal problem" or "police activity" reference to complete the atmosphere. The MTA just released the new fare hikes for unlimited and pay-per-ride Metrocards. The base fare will remain at $2, though only 15% of the riding population buys the base fare. Update: We didn't see any questions or answers during the time......

With the MTA's vote whether to raise subway and bus fares coming in less than three weeks, speculation is running high about what will happen. Even though Governor Spitzer said that the base subway and bus fare will remain $2, unlimited Metrocard fares - which 85% of riders use - will rise. The MTA has insisted the fare hikes are necessary, given projected deficits and upcoming capital construction, but many elected officials believe that the......

The Daily News has been keeping score which MTA officials have actually been showing up to the meetings where the public gets to air its opinions about the proposed fare hikes. And now that the meetings are over, the News names the three MTA board members who were no shows: (pictured, from left to right) Andrew Saul (who is Vice Chairman of the Board), Donald Cecil, and Susan Metzger. And mind you, these are members......

Protests are expected over anticipated fare hikes for subway and bus rides, and the MTA is prepared to listen. The other day, MTA head Dale Hemmerdinger said "We're not deaf," in response to rider complaints about the boost in prices. Riders will get a chance to test that assertion tonight in Brooklyn, as hearings are held about a jump in fare hikes to $2.25 and a boost in weekly and monthly unlimited passes of......

Earlier this afternoon, an A/C power outage along the 7 line caused service to stop in both directions. Apparently one of the signals went out at 1:35PM, and the MTA wasn't completely sure when it would be fixed. Other parts of the 7 came back and now, thankfully, 7 service is back and running in time for the rush hour. And earlier this morning, reader Faye tells us about her horrible commute from the......

The MTA has announced the times of public hearings where the agency will discuss the impending bus and subway fare hike. There are eight meetings across the five boroughs, Westchester, and Long Island. We've all heard about the two kinds of fare hikes - a traditional across-the-board hike and another hike that would give discounts during off-peak rides. The a single ride would be $2.25, up from the current $2. And the early mentioned......

The MTA is considering a few possibilities for upcoming bus and subway fare hikes in 2008 and 2010. The two ideas on the table at present are a traditional rate hike and a rate hike with an off-peak option - riders would get a discount if they use NYC mass transit during off-peak hours. From what the information the MTA has released so far, both options have their pros and cons. The Post tackles that......

Back in July, the MTA said that fare hikes would be likely for subways and buses (not to mention the LIRR, Metro-North and bridges and tunnels). Now the agency has announced two proposed solutions: A standard across-the-board increase and, more intriguingly, a two-tier system that would discount fares for rides during off-peak hours. Both plans would call for the base fare to be increased to $2.25, but some Metrocard users would only pay $1.50......

While SFist cringed at the fatal dose of crime littering the Bay Area, it found solace in Hillary Clinton's San Francisco campaign headquarters opening, which featured loads of exposed mammary glands. In other news, SF Taxi Commission ruled that Satan's cab must keep its (in)famous medallion number, 666; and in an un-fashion-forward frenzy, San Francisco Fashion Week (chortle) bars bloggers from covering and getting smashed at their shows and parties, respectively. Also, they found a......

Yesterday, MTA CEO and executive director Lee Sander took the case for subway and bus fare hikes to the people by standing at the Grand Central shuttle platform yesterday morning. The MTA has argued that with looming billion-dollar deficits, fare hikes, as well as agency cuts, are the only way for the MTA to stay afloat without trimming service. According to the NY Times, very few people stopped to talk to Sander who was handing......

During a board meeting to present the MTA's 2008-2011 financial plan, MTA executive director Lee Sander confirmed yesterday that, yes, fare and toll hikes would be needed in the future because of looming billion-dollar deficits - even in spite of a current billion dollar surplus. And though some politicians were quick to criticize potential hikes (no pol wants fare increases on their watch), the Straphangers Campaign's Gene Russianoff told the Times, "[The MTA has] good......

If you take the Shuttle at Grand Central around 8AM on weekday morning, study this photograph and find this man - it's MTA CEO and Executive Director Lee Sander, and he'll be at the Shuttle platform tomorrow morning! You've been commenting about future subway and bus fare hikes all day long with some great questions for the MTA. And here's your chance to actually talk to some MTA suits - the MTA says that "senior......

The MTA is having a board meeting today and the big topic is fare hikes. As has been the scuttlebutt since the weekend, the MTA will be discussing an "overall increase in fare and toll revenues of 6.5 percent," according to board members who spoke to the NY Times. How that translates into actual numbers is unclear, but it does means the base per-ride fares and unlimited Metrocard monthly and weekly fares would probably rise.......

Well, there's nothing like having a barely-one-hour blackout on a sultry weekday to make you consider stocking up on flashlights, batteries, water, and maybe a Go Bag. Con Ed is still investigating the cause of yesterday's brief power failure to parts of the Bronx and Manhattan; Newsday reported "the blackout was caused when breakers opened at an Astoria substation and cut off power to stations servicing Yorkville and parts of the Bronx." It's unclear......

Yesterday, MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow revealed the 2007 $10 billion MTA budget, confirming that there will be no fare hikes in 2007 and 2009. But some transit advocates think that Kalikow's strategy of implementing hikes every other year (one is expected in 2008) is just delaying the inevitable given the crippling deficits expected. Beverly Dolinsky of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA told the Post, "[Kalikow is] putting it in the lap of......

The MTA board sources tell the Daily News that fare hikes in 2007 are unlikely for buses, subways, Metro-North, and the LIRR. Hooray - previously it was thought that a fare hike could come next September, but now you can thank the strong real estate economy for adding to the MTA's coffers. The MTA's 2007 financial plans will be unveiled today and are to be approved next month. The only thing is that we'll probably......

If you were wondering how former mayor Rudy Giuliani feels after the thumpin' the Republicans took last week, wonder no more, because he's been facing it with the same, stubborn Rudy-vision that we all remember from his NYC mayoral years. The NY Times was on the scenefor a speech Giuliani made: In his first public comments about last week’s Democratic sweep of Congress, Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former Republican mayor of New York City,......

Newsday has a good article looking at the transportation issues the next governor will deal with - the biggest being the MTA. The MTA, which already announced fare hikes for next year, faces insane budget deficits in the coming years: $905 million in 2008, $1.13 billion in 2009, $1.48 billion in 2010. The Straphangers' Campaign's Gene Russianoff says of the MTA, "They borrowed a ton of money to fix a system, and now the bill......

What a difference a year makes - and a few months, for that matter. Remember when the New York Jets were offering $100 million for the West Side Railyards to build a Jets Stadium? And remember when the MTA, when forced by public pressure, demanded $300 million? And then in July, Mayor Bloomberg offered $300 million for the West Side Rail Yard and $200 million for the East Side railyard - a total of......

Probably realizing that many of its riders are listening to their iPods and not conductor announcements, the MTA has its own podcasts - TransitTrax:We keep New York and you moving, and we're excited to offer you a variety of Podcasts that include service change information, getaways and deals, and behind the scenes interviews - all to help you get the most out of your ride or just to get to know us better. We'll be......

There's nothing like union workers picketing outside a fancy Upper East Side abode! This morning, Transport Workers Union members are outside MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow's home, claiming that he's "perpetuating the labor dispute rather than allowing the MTA to vote on the contract " and "putting European vacations and a custom made Ferrari over their need for a new 37 month contract that would include a raise of more than ten percent," as WABC......

Along with millions of New Yorkers, State Comptroller Alan Hevesi thinks the MTA shouldn't have to raise subway and bus fares next year. What Comptroller Hevesi doesn't realize is that the MTA just does whatever it wants, but he released a statement saying that the MTA made bank on real estate taxes and the agency has a good short-term outlook. Hevesi also goes on to say that the long-term outlook of the MTA is terrible,......

Interesting news from Albany: MTA Executive Director Katherine Lapp told the legislature that the MTA doesn't want to increase fares again, saying, "What we're hoping is that the [2007] fare increase will not be needed." There were fears of fare hikes in 2006 and 2007 even since the 2004 50-cent fare increase. The MTA may not have to raise fares if real estate tax revenues remains sweet, because the MTA does have big budget deficits:......

Besides voting on a Mayor in two weeks, New Yorkers will have a chance to vote on the state's proposed $2.9 billion Transportation Bond Act that will put money towards various state and city (mostly MTA) transit projects. We've been noticing a lot of support for the bill (Pataki, Bloomberg, Ferrer, the Straphangers), but there is some opposition, especially from upstate groups which don't necessarily want to be the ones on the hook for a......

A day after the MTA's announcement of unprecedented and, frankly, surprising discounted fares between Thanksgiving and New Year's, the reality has set in. First off, the MTA is really trying to restore its credibility with riders by being nice; a Regional Plan Association spokesperson tells Newsday, "You can't take the politices out of it totally." Second, some critics wonder why the MTA can't put the money ($50 million for holidays discounts this year; another $50......