Much of the reporting on the MTA board and committee meetings last week focused on the protracted labor dispute.
But one little noticed footnote was how the holiday bonus fares hurt the MTA’s bottom line more than expected. In November alone, the discounts — which started Thanksgiving Day — cost $7.5 million.
The MTA predicted it would lose only $5.4 million in November. December figures won’t be released until next month, but this indicates the controversial discounts hit the farebox hard.
Union leaders were dead set against the MTA spending its $1 billion surplus on holiday discounts without first giving raises to the workers.
And if the December and January figures likewise show the discounts to be more costly than predicted expect more howling from the union on what it calls the MTA’s misplaced priorities.
--Chuck Bennett
