AMNY Subway Tracker

MTA chief Eliot Sander warned again that raise fares might go up. Someone should keep count. During the MTA's "webinar" on Wednesday, while responding to e-mailed questions from riders, Sander said that the agency might turn to them to close the hole in its capital budget. Unsaid, but implied, is that a fare hike might not be on the table if congestion pricing had been passed in Albany. See the story in the Post.

Forget a fare hike, what about a fare-free system? Long-time labor mediator and transit advocate Ted Kheel launched his plan today to fund mass transit with a congestion pricing plan on steroids. Kheel's self-funded $100,000 study proposed a $16 fee for cars and a $32 dollar tax on trucks to enter the central business district of Manhattan. Taxi riders would pay a 25 pecent surcharge and parking fees would go up under the plan. Kheel estimates that congestion would decrease, and $4.1 billion would be raised for the MTA (almost a half million more than the agency takes in from its tolls and transit fares). The 93-year-old environmentalist is passing out his plan to the mayor, other officials and, of course, the traffic mitigation commission set to vote on a congestion pricing plan by the end of the month. Check it out for yourself.

(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.

City Comptroller William Thompson penned a letter to MTA board chair Dale Hemmerdinger today, asking to halt the hike. Thompson cites his August report, detailing all the public funding the agency hasn't received in the letter. Check it out here:
Download file
Two rallies are set to protest the hikes in front of MTA headquarters tomorrow. The board is set to vote on the hikes, and financial plan, in the morning.

The MTA experienced techincal difficulties today as it tried to hold a first-ever on-line forum about the proposed budget and fare hikes.
Some folks who logged in couldn't see the financial presentations while others couldn't hear them. Others couldn't hear or see the show.
The forum was the 10th chance for public feedback on the fare hike since the MTA proposed increases in July. Even with the glitches, people were still able to write in with questions and comments on the hike through the program hosted by a third-party provider.
The MTA's comment on the glitches:

Unfortunately, we experienced some technological difficulties which created difficulty for some participants to view the slide presentations being given. For that we sincerely apologize.
Even though the technology didn’t work perfectly for us this first time, the webinar format and the extremely successful Public Engagement Workshop we held on November 17th, were noble experiments to expand our public outreach efforts. We learned a lot today and look forward to better employing the electronic element in the future.
The good news is that virtually everyone who signed on was able to hear the presenters and to submit questions.

The MTA will hold an on-line forum on Monday to give the public its final say on the fare hike, a spokesman said yesterday.
MTA staff will give live on-line presentations at the lunchtime session from noon to 1:30 p.m. On-line viewers can write in with questions for the MTA staff who will answer them at the end of their presentations.
Participants must register at mta.info.
Eight public hearings and one interactive in-person forum were held in November on the fare and the MTA’s four-year financial plan. The plan includes a fare and toll increase expected to increase revenue by 3.85%, down from an earlier 6.5% proposed increase, the MTA said. The MTA and governor announced in November that the base fare will remain at $2.
The plan will combat $6 billion in expected future deficits while increasing service to meet demand, the MTA said.

The MTA announced today that the base fare for subways and buses will stay at $2, but comuter rail fairs, MetroCards and monthly and weekly passes will still go up next year.
The agency pojected it would finish the year with $220 million above projections in July, when the hike was proposed. The extra cash came from higher farebox revenues, real estate tax revenues and underspending by the MTA.
It's unclear what the future holds for commuter railroads and the price of discount MetroCards and passes, but they won't see as high an increase either. The MTA will present the board with details of its updated budget and fare and toll hike plan at a Finance Committee meeting Monday.
Two board members, Norman Seabrook and Mitch Pally, said they'll still vote down any hike, no matter how small.

The Disabled Riders Coalition and Assemblyman Micah Kellner will question the fare hike's legality at a press conference Thursday, the coalition announced tonight.
All will be revealed tomorrow afternoon, says the coalition, when it also will threaten to sue the MTA "if it doesn't clarify and reform certain aspects of the proposal," says coalition director Michael Harris.
The annoucement will take place outside of the Hotel Pennsylvania, where the Manhattan fare hike public hearing is set to take place at 6 p.m. More to come...

Besides the public hearings on the fare hike, for the first time ever, straphangers will be able to attend a workshop to hear the MTA's reasons for the increase. Of course, riders who register will be given the chance to offer their two cents on the 25-cent base fare hike. You can call or register on-line now. The details for the workshop:
Saturday, November 17, 2007
10 am - 1:30 pm (registration begins at 9:30 am)
New York University - Kimmel Center
KC Rosenthal Pavilion, 10th Floor
60 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012

MTA CEO Elliot Sander said at today's board meeting that the number of people expected to ride the subway outside of the rush hour on a discounted fare is in the "smaller digits."
The MTA proposed two fare hike scenarios earlier this week, including one that offers $1.50 fare to straphangers who ride outside of the peak hours. The agency hopes the incentive will coax people into trains a little before or after the peak, freeing up room on the most crowded train lines.
Preliminary estimates show that the percentage of people who choose to get to work earlier or later (and less expensively) will be in the single digits. He didn't release exact numbers, but said that even a small amount of relief makes an impact.
"Even in the smaller digits, it’s meaningful when you talk about the Lexington Avenue line," Sander told reporters.

Elliot Sander first hit the street and now the airwaves to explain why he wants to raise the fare. He told Bill Ritter on WABC’s Up Close today that the MTA will be figuring out how to raise it in September and October. In November, the public will have their say. It’s still unclear how the MTA may propose to affect the public’s wallet. Sander said the hike could affect the base fare, monthly passes, express buses or some combination. He didn’t give much away, except to say he has a “sensitivity to express buses” because they will help ridership increases when congestion pricing takes affect. He wouldn’t say why he’s so sensitive, meaning he would not confirm if those bus fares would be exempt from a fare increase.

As part of next year's financial plan, New York City Transit is hoping to make riders' lives easier. Here are details:
Bus
• Bus Rapid Transit initiative scheduled to begin with implementation along two routes.
• B83 bus route extended to Gateway Shopping Center in Brooklyn
• B61 and B77 routes extended to Ikea in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn
• Increased Staten Island express bus service on weekends, weekdays, middays and nights, in addition to the new S89 service to Bayonne beginning this fall.

Subway
• Additional rush hour, weekday off-peak and weekend service on the L Line to provide shorter waiting times and more comfortable travel conditions.
• Additional evening service on the Nos. 1, 4, 5 and 6, and additional weekend service on the No. 7.
• New R160 cars to be delivered for service on the J, Z, L, M, N and Q Lines. (We expect board approval of the first of two contract options for 620 cars)
• ADA accessibility at five stations, including South Ferry (new No. 1 Line terminal), Kew Gardens-Union Turnpike on the E and F, and 47-50th Streets/Rockefeller Center on the B, D, F and V.
• Longer hours of weekday service on the B and W, and extended service on the G to Church Avenue, Brooklyn.

(via MTA)

That was one man's feedback as MTA CEO Elliot Sander addressed reporters on the Shuttle platform in Grand Central Station. Sander passed out pamphlets outlining reasons to raise the fare and tolls and ways the MTA is tightening its belt in next year’s budget. Most folks took the handout, but some angry riders huffed as media and Sander blocked their way to work. Other agency heads also passed out pamphlets in other spots in the system during the morning rush. More to come...

--Marlene Naanes

After the MTA proposed fare hikes today, several folks threw in their two cents. Here's a run-down of some:

City Council transportation chair John Liu:

Before the MTA decides to once again hike transit fares, New Yorkers
need to be assured that a thorough top-to-bottom review of potential
cost-saving measures has taken place. While we welcome the MTA's
apparent willingness to explore other revenue options, there has still
not been a full accounting of hundreds in millions of dollars
earmarked for projects such as the abortive LaGuardia Airport
Extension and the ongoing fiasco to create computer-driven trains on
the L Line. Furthermore, a serious effort must be made to reverse the
decade-long cut in State subsidies for mass transit - a trend that has
led to deferred maintenance and service cuts, even as fares have
increased.

The timing for this fare hike is awful. We're on the cusp of sending
a very strong message to New Yorkers that mass transit is the way to
go. A fare hike at this point would contradict this message -
undermining the goal of reducing congestion - and further contribute
to an unfair burden on working families. City straphangers already
pay almost 70% of the system's operating budget - far above and beyond
the 40% national average. Before we ask commuters to pay more out of
pocket, the MTA must do its due diligence and demonstrate an absolute
need for higher fares.

Advocacy group the Straphangers Campaign:

Here are some questions that New Yorkers should be asking about a possible fare hike in the months to come:

Do the financial numbers show the MTA facing a serious budget deficit in 2008 and beyond?

Here the MTA will have to make its case. This will be the agency's biggest challenge since it will be running a surplus in 2008, although it predicts large deficits in the following years. Much of the MTA's long-term deficit is caused by growing interest on the $32 billion that the MTA has been forced to borrow since 1982. These bonds made up for a lack of city and state aid badly needed to fund key repairs to the 103 year old transit system. Borrowing costs will eat up an astonishing 20% of the MTA's costs by the end of the decade. It is only fair to acknowledge that the MTA has what is called a "structural" deficit that will require new revenues in future years to address recurring deficits. But there is no question that many New Yorkers - especially the most vulnerable economically -- will be asking what they are getting for a fare increase.

Subway Pickpocket by Owen Smith

From Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign

Today, Governor Eliot Spitzer said "we will do everything possible to avoid a [transit] rate hike ...We will increase state investment in transportation - both capital and operating sides of the budget - because that is the only way to maintain our transportation..." The governor was responding to a question about the likelihood of a fare hike by year's end.

The Straphangers Campaign agrees with Governor Spitzer.

-- Chuck Bennett

Better late night public transportation could be an outcome out of all the attention on club kids getting drunk and killed. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn invited the MTA and NJ Transit for a Nightlife Safety Summit.

Which reminds me of a fantastic idea MTA board member Andrew Albert had last year -- free subway rides on New Year’s Eve. Unfortunately, his idea got lost with all the labor troubles during the season.

Perhaps, now is a decent time to bring it up again. There won’t be any holiday fare discounts and free New Year’s rides will be a great, cheap public service.

-- Chuck Bennett amNY.com

Presumably before Mayor Mike learned that the fare increase was proposed, the mayor said he against any hike.

“Before my four members would vote for a fare increase, they would have to do an awful lot of work to justify anything. Last time I looked at their finances they were the beneficiaries of a real estate market that nobody had anticipated and that’s where their surplus came from,” he said.

But conventional -- or cynical -- wisdom says, the governor and mayor plan these things ahead of time, so the mayor can have his four board appointees vote down the hike knowing that there will still be enough votes for it to pass.

-- Chuck Bennett

The MTA today proposed to postpone the 5% fare increase, scheduled to kick in Jan 1, 2007, until at least September 2007. Surplus this year will exceed $700 million. More news to follow from big board meeting today.

-- Chuck Bennett, amNY.com

Photo: Alejandra Villa

During his weekly radio show on WABC last Friday, Mayor Bloomberg  left the 2007 fare hike option on the  table.

When asked about the state Comptroller Alan Hevesi’s report and conclusion that the 5% fare hike be postponed, Bloomberg said:

“Well if it turns out that their tax revenues are better than what they thought and their fare revenues are better than what they thought there’s no reason to raise the fare, and I said last time, we would withhold our four votes until a study was really done. I don’t know whether history ... the future will show Alan to be right or not, but I will say we do want to charge enough so that we can run this system safely and efficiently and well and pay our employees a fair wage.”

Classic pol speak -- sounding like he oppses a fare hike but carefully leaving both options on the table.

But think back to the 2004 fare increase vote. The mayor’s four board members all voted no -- but it was purely symbolic because MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow already knew he had enough votes to raise the fare without them.

Also, earlier in the show a caller who identified himself as an MTA worker and union member urged Bloomberg to run for president.

“My mother is pleased when people joke about that,” he quipped.

He then praised the MTA workers, “You guys really do a great job and hopefully you and the MTA, the union and the MTA, will work out their contract disputes.”

At this point, it doesn’t seem to come as any surprise that Bloomberg is hands-off on the transit workers contract.

-- Chuck Bennett

State comptroller Alan Hevesi says there is  no need for a fare hike in 2007.

“The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) may be able to forego a five percent fare and toll increase in 2007 because of a series of favorable developments,” according to a report he just released.

Interesting. Scheduled fare hikes have been on MTA books for 2007 and 2009 for a long time. But this is the first we hear that it would be a 5% increase.

“The MTA estimates that a five percent fare and toll increase would generate $241 million in additional revenues in 2007. However, the Comptroller’s Office estimates that the MTA could end 2006 with a cash balance of $533 million, which is $316 million more than anticipated by the MTA in its current financial plan,” the press release says.

I’m guessing the MTA will have no comment.

UPDATE: The 5% number has actually been around. It would not affect the base fares, only for multitrip MetroCards.

And, the MTA responded. Statement from executive director Katherine Lapp:

“We will take under advisement the Comptroller’s and other elected officials’ calls to forego a 2007 fare increase as we update our four year financial plan in July, ... The Comptroller’s own report documents the MTA’s concerns – voiced repeatedly by our Chairman over the past several years - that the spiraling costs of debt service, health and welfare obligations and pension contributions will result in a deficit of over $1 billion in 2008, less than twenty months from now. ”

-- Chuck Bennett

The MTA tries to explain that by taking advantage of all the unlimited rides the actual base fare is just in the $1.30 range.

At the New York City Transit committee meeting yesterday, TA president Larry Reuter had an even better way to look at it. In 1996 “constant dollars” -- that is adjusted for inflation -- the base fare is actually just 98 cents.

“One of the best values in town,” Reuter said.

    -- Chuck Bennett

The two big transit news items of the day:

First:
The union met for first the time last night to discuss its post-strike, post-rejected contract strategy for resisting binding arbitration.

Afterwards, to no one’s surprise, the union decided to go back to the negotiating table with the MTA.

Second:
Up at a hearing in Albany yesterday, Katie Lapp, the executive director of the MTA, hinted that those planned 2007 fare hikes may not be necessary after all if higher than expected tax revenues keep pouring in.

Said, Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign:

“Ms. Lapp said these projections were not certain and that any final fare decision would be made by the MTA board. But the Straphangers Campaign is very encouraged.

Hallelujah! This is good news for riders battered by fare hikes in both 2003 and 2005. The fare went from $1.50 to $2.00 in May 2003 and in 2005 the prices of 7-day and 30-day unlimited-ride MetroCards were raised.

Previously, the MTA had said it planned fare increases every two years, with the next one due early in 2007. The agency has budgeted $240 million from fare and toll increases for 2007. But this may not be needed.”

-- Chuck Bennett