New York City Mayor Adam Adams strongly opposed the recent proposed fare hike plan by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in a statement released on July 30th. He urged MTA board members to vote against the proposal.
Mayor Adams highlighted that the city government has expanded the “Fair Fares” program, allowing nearly a million low-income residents who earn below 150% of the federal poverty line to qualify for discounted MTA fares. However, proposing a price increase without demonstrating substantial improvements in transportation services would only burden the hardworking people of New York.
He emphasized that with the implementation of congestion pricing, MTA will receive billions of dollars in dedicated funding to improve the system, making it unjustifiable for MTA to further raise prices on the city’s residents.
State Assemblyman Michael Tannousis called for a comprehensive audit of MTA and urged the federal government to hold the agency’s leadership accountable. He criticized congestion pricing, originally intended to fund the poorly managed MTA, for now imposing additional costs on daily commuters traveling to work or school, declaring that “this taxpayer money sinkhole must be plugged.”
In response to the dissatisfaction from elected officials, an MTA spokesperson did not directly address the concerns but mentioned the reasons behind the fare hike in a recording from Wednesday’s board meeting. MTA officials stated that their revenue had declined by over 10% compared to 2019 but had managed to reduce the deficit by $200 million in the past year through various measures, striving to achieve financial balance going forward.
MTA plans to hold three hybrid (online and in-person) public hearings throughout the city this month and will conduct a final board vote in the fall. The city government, on the other hand, affirmed its commitment to advocating for affordable and equitable public transportation policies to defend the rights of its residents.