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Riders stunned as MTA releases plan for whopping $130 monthly MetroCard

Harry

By Harry,
in New York City Subway

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Harry

Harry

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Bus and subway riders could get slugged with knockout fares next year - like $130 for a monthly MetroCard - under a surprise option the MTA unveiled Monday.

 

Public notices announcing dates and locations for fare and toll hearings say the Metropolitan Transportation Authority could jack up the monthly MetroCard, now $89, by $41.

 

The fine print also says the weekly MetroCard could soar to $38 from $27 - and the base bus-subway fare could go up a quarter to $2.50.

 

The MTA last month released a preliminary budget with much smaller proposed fares - including $104 for the monthly MetroCard and $29 for the weekly.

 

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/08/24/2010-08-24_an_mta_sideswipe_riders_stunned_as_agency_releases_plan_for_whopping_130_monthly.html#ixzz0xX9KhckB

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Fresh Pond

Fresh Pond

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:eek:

38 bucks for a weekly??? Ok I really need to get a car now

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RTOMan Train Operator

RTOMan

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:eek:

38 bucks for a weekly??? Ok I really need to get a car now

 

Yep and pay for gas, insurance, car note, tolls to drive across (MTA) bridges and under thier tunnels. Parking Meters or garages...

 

Yep thats cheaper....

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checkmatechamp13

checkmatechamp13

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Apparently, the $1.00 charge would also apply to unlimited MetroCards, but the plan would be to make unlimited MetroCards refillable.

 

I can see why the Unlimited MetroCard would have to rise to $130 if they also offered the capped MetroCard. The reason being that, if the Unlimited MetroCard were raised to $104, with no capped option offered, the riders who use the system less than 90 times per month would be subsidizing the riders who use the system more than 90 times per month. If the capped option is offered, that subsidy would no longer exist, meaning that those riders have to pay a higher price for a truly Unlimited MetroCard.

 

If the capped option costs $1.10 per trip, $130/$1.10 per trip means that the rider has to take 118 trips to break even (the 119th trip and over are essentially "free" trips). In this case, those riders truly are "heavy riders"

 

As for me, I better start stocking up on Pay-Per-Ride MetroCards while the bonus is still 15%.

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NX Express

NX Express

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If anyone bothered to look on the MTA website, a $130 unlimited card would only exist in conjunction with a $99 capped card.

 

Why does that link lead to a website named bit.ly? I was under the impression that the MTA site was www.mta.info.:confused:

Back on topic, more people are probably going to start driving now. This might also be the last straw for lower-class people who need to commute to two or more jobs.

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Matt91

Matt91

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Why does that link lead to a website named bit.ly? I was under the impression that the MTA site was www.mta.info.:confused:

Back on topic, more people are probably going to start driving now. This might also be the last straw for lower-class people who need to commute to two or more jobs.

 

I copied that link from Twitter on my iPod, so it's easier to post that. And bit.ly is a URL shortening service for twitter so when you click on it, it leads you to the intended website.

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Abba

Abba

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If anyone bothered to look on the MTA website, a $130 unlimited card would only exist in conjunction with a $99 capped card.

 

And the MTA site also says that the base fare would remain unchanged.Only the single-ride ticket would go up a quarter.The Daily News confused everyone.Here is a link to the proposals

http://mta.info/mta/2011_fare_change_nyct.html

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checkmatechamp13

checkmatechamp13

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This is most likely not going to happen. They might just go with the less expensive $104 uncapped Metrocard and use this as a scare tactic. This is just like when they proposed the $3 fare last year.

 

The thing is that they have a certain goal of an amount of money to raise through this fare hike. Last time, I'm pretty sure the reason was because they were bailed out by the payroll tax.

 

Think about it this way:

 

If (for example) 10% of Unlimited MetroCard users use over 90 rides per month and 90% of Unlimited MetroCard users use less than 90 rides per month, the queston is: Should those 90% subsidize the other 10%?

 

For example, if the Unlimited MetroCard were raised to $104, and 10 people use Unlimited MetroCards, you charge those 10 people $104 and get $1,040.

If the Unlimited MetroCard were raised to $130, and the "capped" MetroCard cost $99, you get (9*99)+130=$1,021.

 

In both cases, the MTA raises a similar amount of money, but the hike targets different people. That $130 MetroCard is a $41 fare hike to 10% of Unlimited MetroCard users, and a $9 fare hike to the other 90%. A $104 MetroCard is a $15 fare hike to all Unlimited MetroCard users.

 

The problem with raising the Unlimited MetroCard too high is that the most frequent users might decide to consolidate trips in order to avoid buying an Unlimited MetroCard, meaning that there are fewer people to support the cost of the Unlimited MetroCard (they all switch to the "capped" MetroCard), and the price goes higher, making it a cycle until the Unlimited MetroCard becomes unaffordable and is eventually phased out.

 

I agree that they might just implement the $104 MetroCard and call it a day.

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checkmatechamp13

checkmatechamp13

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It all depends on where you use the car to go to. For shorter trips, the marginal cost of gas is cheaper than the cost of a bus/subway ride. Also, with a car, you have the ability to carpool instead of paying a fare for everybody who travels with you. Also, you don't have to worry about walking to the bus stop and waiting 20 minutes for the bus because you just missed it.

I'm not saying owning a car is cheaper than taking public transportation-just that there are reasons why it is feasable, especially with a large family.

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East New York

East New York

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Wirelessly posted via (Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 1.6; en-us; T-Mobile G1 Build/DMD64) AppleWebKit/528.5+ (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.2 Mobile Safari/525.20.1)

 

:eek:

38 bucks for a weekly??? Ok I really need to get a car now

 

Why does that link lead to a website named bit.ly? I was under the impression that the MTA site was www.mta.info.:confused:

Back on topic, more people are probably going to start driving now. This might also be the last straw for lower-class people who need to commute to two or more jobs.

 

When one has the money it really doesnt matter l0l.

 

$38 would hardly put my tank past half. $38 bucks a week is nothing compared to all that goes along with driving. Even if money isn't an issue. But then again, I am the type who uses (MTA) because I want too. Not because I have too! And with all these new buses coming out, (I know this doesn't support others feelings on the matter), but I would gladly pay the $130.

IMO, there is absolutely no point is buying anything other than an unlimited card unless you are the occasional rider.

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checkmatechamp13

checkmatechamp13

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Define frequent.

You need to use about 47 rides per month to break even compared to a Bonus Pay-Per-Ride MetroCard. Somebody who works one job and takes a couple of days off might find that it isn't worth it to buy a monthly MetroCard. Also, you don't have to worry about pay-per-rides expiring (making them easier to hoard in a fare hike)

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Urbanfortitude

Urbanfortitude

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$38 would hardly put my tank past half. $38 bucks a week is nothing compared to all that goes along with driving. Even if money isn't an issue. But then again, I am the type who uses (MTA) because I want too. Not because I have too! And with all these new buses coming out, (I know this doesn't support others feelings on the matter), but I would gladly pay the $130.

IMO, there is absolutely no point is buying anything other than an unlimited card unless you are the occasional rider.

 

I wish I could share your feelings about this. I'm not exactly thrilled by it at all, especially with what I've heard about the MTA over the last couple of months. Problem is at this point I've accepted that the MTA is going to do what the MTA wants to do and there's nothing anyone else can say or do about it. The only other option is to pretty much just leave NY. The thing is with that is there really is no other place in the US I'd even consider living other than Colorado and that's because I like mountains. It's all hopeless till we get someone in charge who actually can relate to the people and I don't see that happening anytime soon.

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MattTrain

MattTrain

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I remember a few years ago a Monthly Metrocard Express bus plus was $120, that was discontinued in 2003! Talk about the same type of Metrocard that will be $130, but without the express bus privilege. I miss the days when the 30 day card was only $63, those were the days...

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553 Bridgeton Bus Operator

553 Bridgeton

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$38 would hardly put my tank past half. $38 bucks a week is nothing compared to all that goes along with driving. Even if money isn't an issue. But then again, I am the type who uses (MTA) because I want too. Not because I have too! And with all these new buses coming out, (I know this doesn't support others feelings on the matter), but I would gladly pay the $130.

IMO, there is absolutely no point is buying anything other than an unlimited card unless you are the occasional rider.

 

Your right, however $130 is too steep.

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T to Dyre Avenue

T to Dyre Avenue

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$104 I can deal with. But if the (MTA) raise the 30-day Unlimited rate to $130, then I'd have to switch to the proposed $99 90-ride card. For me, that wouldn't be too bad because I take the subway and local bus much less on weekends now that I live in Bayside.

 

But I still think $130 for a 30-day Unlimited MetroCard is highway robbery.

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