More Stories
Prepare to pay more to get into New York City, whether you take public transportation or drive.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has approved new rate hikes for its subways, buses, trains, and bridges.
For Metro-North riders, the cost of weekly and monthly passes will increase by about 4.5%. The price of your train ticket will vary depending on your departure location. For instance, the monthly fare from Yonkers will be $233, from Katonah will be $359, and from Poughkeepsie will be $489.50.
However, fares on the Pascack Valley and Port Jervis lines west of the Hudson River will not see an increase.
The MTA is also raising fares on nine bridges and tunnels between 5% to 10%, depending on whether you have E-ZPass.
Once you arrive in the city, the base fare for subway, local buses, and paratransit will increase by 15 cents, from $2.75 to $2.90.
Moreover, there will be $2 increases for the 7- and 30-day unlimited ride passes.
MTA officials state that before the pandemic, they agreed to raise fares every 2 years. State funding allowed them to postpone an increase in 2021, but now that things are back to normal, they are resuming the pattern of fare increases every second year.
"It's a resumption of the historic pattern of small fare increases every second year so people can plan for that," says Janno Lieber, of the MTA.
It’s no surprise that commuters who spoke with News 12 say they aren’t happy about the fare hikes and that the MTA is increasing the costs no matter how you travel into the city.
"I was driving, but then that was astronomical. So, I thought, the better option is to do the public transportation - but if that goes up, might be the same," laments Suzanne Castroman, of Yonkers.
The toll changes will take effect on Aug. 6, and the fare hikes will be implemented on Aug. 20.
