(via flickr's jakefromm)
Fare and toll hikes passed through the MTA board in a 12-2 vote today, but not before a whole lot of outrage.
Some of it was even holiday themed.
Straphangers Campaign staff attorney Gene Russianoff gave the board a holiday present--a 4,000-signature petition against the hikes donning a red bow. The holiday cheer stopped there.
Russianoff offered some predictions to the board:
Today, you are set to vote a fare hike that will hit 86% of your riders who use MetroCard discounts. You could have waited until the end of March for the state legislature to consider your financial needs. Led by Assembly Member Richard Brodsky, scores of legislators signed on to letters pledging to make up for more than a dozen years of budget gimmicks and stagnant subsidies for transit.
Sadly, you threw in the towel before even asking for new aid. You are supposed to be an independent public authority, but you accepted Governor Spitzer's plan to simply adopt the shortsighted transit budget policies of his predecessor, George Pataki. It is a big political mistake for Governor Spitzer and the MTA to give the back of their hand to 100 legislators who have said they want to help.
I have a lot of respect for the talented new crew at the MTA. And riders appreciate your freezing the $2 base fare and adopting 40% smaller fare increases than originally proposed. But you have introduced yourselves to the riding public by hiking their fares at a time of crowding and poor service.
What does all this mean for the future? Predictions are always risky, but I have two.
First, the transit fare will likely be frozen for at least three years. The MTA says it will hit the riders again in two years and raise fares at the end of 2010. But that's an election year for governor, so a fare hike in 2010 is unlikely.
Second, Governor Spitzer has a big political deficit on transit, which he will have to make up in the years to come. The MTA's plan calls for the state and city to contribute an additional $600 million a year to finance operating expenses, beginning in 2010. Just before Thanksgiving, Governor. Spitzer said "We are talking about a 2010 commitment of $600 million, shared with the city. That is an enormous commitment that we have made, that I have made, and we will be good for." Riders, reporters, officials, editorial boards and voters will all remember that promise.
Others offered their two cents, including the MTA.
The agency listed a bunch of service improvements, which some board members complain aren't taking effect with the hikes, earlier this week. Check them out here: Download file
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