MTR Admiralty Posted May 6, 2009 Share #1 Posted May 6, 2009 By BRENDAN SCOTT in Albany and TOM NAMAKO in NY Last updated: 9:50 am May 6, 2009 Posted: 2:34 am May 6, 2009 After five months of political squabbling, the MTA bailout train finally pulled into the station last night. Fares will jump an average 10 percent -- but massive service cuts and layoffs were avoided after key Albany lawmakers and Gov. Paterson reached a deal to pump billions of dollars into the transit agency. Straphangers will bear a big part of the burden. A single ride will cost $2.25 -- and the 30-day unlimited MetroCard will be hiked to $89 under the deal. Those current fares are $2 and $81. EDITORIAL: CAPITAL GAINS Also going up an average 10 percent will be fares on commuter railroads and tolls on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's bridges and tunnels. It was not immediately clear when the hikes would go into effect. Commuting will become even more expensive in 2011 and 2013, when fares and tolls jump by another 7.5 percent. The state Senate is expected to vote on the $2.26 billion bailout bill at its 11 a.m. session today. The measure will then go to the Assembly and to the governor's desk. Passage is certain -- Paterson, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith are all aboard. Without the bailout, fares would have gone up 23 percent, 1,000 workers would have been laid off, and two subway lines and more then 20 bus routes would have been eliminated. Paterson and legislative leaders unveiled the deal at a hastily arranged 7 p.m. news conference in his office, after Silver scheduled a competing press conference at the same hour to make the big announcement himself, sources said. Paterson asked millions of riders to trust that he, Silver and Smith had not sneaked any gimmicks into the package. "We can assure them this evening that there will be no surprises, that there will be no further cuts or fears about fare hikes or toll increases," he said. Along with the fare hikes, the bailout plan includes new taxes, fees and surcharges. Every business in the 12-county MTA service region will pay a 34-cent tax on each $100 of payroll, which is expected to bring in $1.5 billion a year. School districts will be reimbursed by the state. About $400 million of the tax each year will go toward backing bonds for the MTA's capital program in 2010 and 2011. The money will fund purchases of new subway cars, station rehabs, and continued work on megaprojects like the Second Avenue Subway. There's still a question of where funds for the rest of the agency's five-year capital program will come from. "If we knew how we would pay for it, we would be standing here telling you that right now," Paterson said. Silver said that more money from the payroll tax might go toward capital projects after the economy improves and the MTA begins getting more money from real-estate taxes. Former MTA chief Richard Ravitch was disappointed that the bill only funds two years of the capital plan, but said the rescue needs to happen. "It's a solution that saves catastrophe and gives some promise to the future," he said. The deal also includes a surcharge of 50 cents on every yellow-cab ride in the city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S78 via Hylan Posted May 6, 2009 Share #2 Posted May 6, 2009 Good. That's better then what the had planned before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTR Admiralty Posted May 6, 2009 Author Share #3 Posted May 6, 2009 Good. That's better then what the had planned before. Yeah I believe the 10% increase regards the LIRR, MNR and LIB fares. I'm not too sure. I'll see if there are any new details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metsfan Posted May 6, 2009 Share #4 Posted May 6, 2009 I am sure that the additional fare increases won't be needed after additional transit funding is dispatched by the feds under the transit friendly administration. Same goes for (NJT) and hopefully! I guess all we can do is wait and see. - A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTR Admiralty Posted May 6, 2009 Author Share #5 Posted May 6, 2009 I am sure that the additional fare increases won't be needed after additional transit funding is dispatched by the feds under the transit friendly administration. Same goes for (NJT) and hopefully! I guess all we can do is wait and see. - A How about the state government? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brighton Local Posted May 6, 2009 Share #6 Posted May 6, 2009 Awesome! Welcome back :tup: ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTR Admiralty Posted May 6, 2009 Author Share #7 Posted May 6, 2009 Awesome! Welcome back :tup: ! And a dozen of buses Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeystoneRegional Posted May 6, 2009 Share #8 Posted May 6, 2009 Please, watch the Nazi Banksters Crimes Ripple Effect at http://jforjustice.co.uk/banksters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metsfan Posted May 6, 2009 Share #9 Posted May 6, 2009 And a dozen of buses And half the station agents..... - A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTR Admiralty Posted May 6, 2009 Author Share #10 Posted May 6, 2009 And half the station agents..... - A Totally, but honestly I don't think they do much though. They don't have change. They don't vend cards. They can't really protect the passengers. They give information that could be obtained from any old Joe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metsfan Posted May 7, 2009 Share #11 Posted May 7, 2009 Totally, but honestly I don't think they do much though. They don't have change. They don't vend cards. They can't really protect the passengers. They give information that could be obtained from any old Joe. They do cards, and things TVM can't do like consolidate balances on several cards onto one. - A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTR Admiralty Posted May 7, 2009 Author Share #12 Posted May 7, 2009 They do cards, and things TVM can't do like consolidate balances on several cards onto one. - A But can they monitor the safety of the passengers? And protect them immediately? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7LineFan Posted May 7, 2009 Share #13 Posted May 7, 2009 But can they monitor the safety of the passengers? And protect them immediately? They can call the po-po though. MVMs can't do that. It's something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bknightshadow45 Posted May 7, 2009 Share #14 Posted May 7, 2009 Glad to hear that there is no service cuts and many bus routes such as the B25 and the M10 is saved! Also and service won't be cut! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forest Glen Posted May 7, 2009 Share #15 Posted May 7, 2009 A 25 cent hike isn't too bad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTR Admiralty Posted May 7, 2009 Author Share #16 Posted May 7, 2009 They can call the po-po though. MVMs can't do that. It's something. Yeah but, by the time the "po-po" arrive, the suspect might have fled already. By the way, remember the rape incident on the G train? The woman was being raped in front of the agent's eyes and he didn't do anything about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.