MTA board raises fares 4%, tolls 6% in first rate increase in 4 years

Long Island commuters will pay more to ride the LIRR, subways and buses, or to drive across an MTA bridge or tunnel, by the end of this summer, as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Wednesday approved its first fare hike in four years.

At a Manhattan meeting, the MTA board unanimously voted in favor of the plan to raise fare revenue by 4% and tolls by 6%. The new rates will take effect on or around Aug. 20.

Defending the increase, MTA chairman and CEO Janno Lieber noted it was part of a budget deal with the state that pulled the transit agency out of potential insolvency, and also was lower than the originally planned 5.5% increase. He said regularly scheduled, modest rate increases remain important, and noted that the LIRR last year reduced monthly fares by 10% to lure back lapsed riders lost during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The fares are still lower than they used to be, even though everything else in life has gone up,” Lieber said. “We all need to accept that the MTA raising fares 4% when surrounding inflation over the last several years is well in excess of that is responsible, and what it delivers is a balanced budget that preserves service.”

On the LIRR, weekly and monthly tickets would rise, on average, by 4.3%, with no tickets exceeding $500. One-way, off-peak tickets would rise by 4.6%.

A one-way ticket between Manhattan and Hicksville — the busiest station on Long Island — will increase 50 cents, going from $10.25 to $10.75 during off-peak hours and from $14 to $14.50 during the rush hours. The discount on an off-peak LIRR ticket, compared with a peak ticket, also would be reduced from 27.5% to 26%.

Although Lieber called the increase "small," it's enough for Tatyanna Stukes to reconsider her daily commute between Jamaica and Hicksville. "It's like, 'I don't want to work out here anymore,'" said Stukes, 23, a teacher's assistant, as she waited at Hicksville for a train while carrying her pet turtle, Pebbles. "It kills my pockets. I'm not going to lie."

Construction worker Peter Gillespie of Long Beach said the increase is particularly hard to stomach given some of the frustrations that riders have dealt with since the LIRR overhauled its schedules in February with the opening of Grand Central Madison. 

"Sometimes the trains are just packed," said Gillespie, 26, who believes the cost of an LIRR ticket is already "just insane."

"And it's going up? That's crazy," he said. 

On New York City subways and buses, the cost of a single ride would increase for the first time in eight years, from $2.75 to $2.90. Because it accepts the MetroCard, Nassau’s NICE Bus would change its fare to mirror that of the MTA's buses, a NICE spokesperson confirmed.

Tolls on MTA bridges and tunnels will rise by 6% for E-ZPass customers, and 10% for others. At major crossings, such the Queens Midtown Tunnel, the E-ZPass toll would climb to $6.94 from the current $6.55.

As part of the new fare plan, the LIRR is doing away with some ticket discount programs, including the 20-trip ticket, which was launched to address the rise in part-time commuting since the beginning of the pandemic, and the Atlantic ticket, which discounted travel between Queens and Brooklyn.

However, the plan expands the LIRR’s city ticket, which provides discounted fares for travel between any stations in New York City, to include peak hour travel at a cost of $7 per ride. 

The rate increase comes despite the MTA being on stronger financial footing than it has been in years, following a new state budget that includes an extra $1 billion in operating aid and federal approval for a congestion pricing plan that will generate another $1 billion annually for infrastructure improvements. Lieber acknowledged Wednesday that the MTA is projecting “for the first time in a generation” five straight years without a budget deficit.

Still, MTA officials have defended the strategy of raising fares on a regular schedule to keep up with inflation, and rising costs — including from a new labor deal approved Wednesday that will pay bus and subway workers nearly 10% in raises over three years. The MTA is already planning for another 4% increase in 2025 and again in 2027.

By Alfonso A. Castillo

alfonso.castillo@newsday.com@alfonsoreports

Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.