On Tuesday, September 30th, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) board voted to approve a fare increase plan. Starting from January next year, the price of a single subway or bus ticket will be raised from $2.90 to $3. Additionally, the board also approved a 4.5% increase in the monthly ticket prices for the Long Island Railroad (LIRR) and Metro-North Railroad, as well as a roughly 7% increase in tolls for MTA bridges and tunnels.
MTA Chairman Janno Lieber stated, “Fare hikes are always painful, but this reflects what we hear from passengers and maintains affordability for riders.”
Along with the fare changes, MTA will be phasing out the yellow monthly MetroCard and requiring all passengers to use the agency’s black OMNY “Tap-to-Pay” system cards.
The board voted to eliminate the 30-day unlimited ride options for subway and buses (the yellow monthly card), but MTA will continue to implement a “fare capping” policy. This means passengers will have their public transportation spending capped within a 7-day period. Under the new fare calculations, the cap will be $35 per week. This means that once a commuter reaches $35 in fare spending within a week, all subsequent rides will be free. Therefore, a regular commuter who used to purchase a monthly pass for their work commutes will now spend $140 per month, an increase of $8 from the current $132.
Additionally, MTA also voted to phase out cash payments on buses. This means passengers will no longer be able to pay with coins on buses and will need to reload their OMNY cards at subway station vending machines or at retail stores affiliated with the MTA.
MTA officials have updated the OMNY website to display information such as when passengers paid their fares with OMNY cards, when they received free transfers, and how many more rides they need to take to reach the weekly $35 cap.