MTA proposes 5% fare hikes for subway, bus rides

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has proposed a five percent fare hike for the base subway, bus and paratransit fare from the current $2.75 cost of a ride to $2.90.

The agency will increase seven-day MetroCards by a dollar to $34 — a 3% increase — and a $5 increase in monthly passes to $132.

The hike seeks to raise 4% more fare revenue for the MTA, following an influx of $65 million in the state budget meant to ward off a 5.5% fare increase.

The increase is expected to take place by Labor Day, MTA officials said at board committee meeting on Monday.

The MTA says it’s in-house data shows New Yorkers making under $68,000 a year use the seven-day pass more than any other option, hence the discounted weekly MetroCard.

Express bus tickets will go up by a quarter to $7, with 7-day express passes going up from $62 to $64. LIRR and Metro-North fares will also go up by around 4% across the board.

“We haven’t had increases in a long time,” MTA Finance Committee chair Neal Zuckerman said Monday. “This is a reasonable increase given inflation.

“It is in keeping with what we did for at least a decade — having predictable, 4% every two year increases,” he said. “Let us not forget, ladies and gentlemen, our ridership is 30 percentage points lower than pre-pandemic.”

The proposal also involves a 6% to 10% hike in tolls to cross MTA’s bridges and tunnels, either in the form of a 7% across-the-board increase, or a 6% jump in EZPass tolls and a 10% hike in by-mail tolls.

The agency will also consider doing away with the LIRR’s Atlantic Ticket and commuter rail’s discounted 20-trip peak ticket, as well as introducing a $7 peak-hour city ticket for both railroads.

In total, the increases are expected to raise $305 million for the agency.

The MTA is expected to vote on the increase in July, after a series of public hearings in June.