Metro
Aug 20, 2023 | 2:29 PM
It’s not the fare.
Fares on the city’s subways and buses soared more than 5% on Sunday to $2.90, imposing an additional burden on many of the millions of subway riders each day.
The fare increase, which also includes rides on the MTA’s Metro-North and LIRR railroads, comes two weeks after state agency bridge and tunnel toll increases.
On Sunday morning, commuters at Jamaica Station, Queens’ transportation hub, said the increase was modest.
“Oh, I’m about to lose it soon… I work every day and I still had to sell my car. Now I’m on the bus or subway and I’ll probably get stabbed and you too Curse Javier, S. 37, an auto mechanic in Canarsie, Brooklyn.
Javier told the Post that he has already tightened when it comes to travel costs. And he doesn’t welcome the additional cost burden.
“In February, I [auto] After I insured it, it went up by about $2,500, so I said, “Yeah, that’s it.” sell it,” he lamented.
“You don’t get a raise, do you? You can’t get a cheaper car, do you? You can even have a free car. 36 miles per hour, $50 tickets in the mail, parking tickets in the mail for $130 each time. Gas is almost $4 and goes up every day.
“Last month I said, I’m going to get stabbed on the subway! Do I have to pay more to get stabbed?” He cited concerns about violent crime on subways, which had been on the decline.
“My kids keep saying they have to move to Georgia or something. I’m starting to think they’re right,” he joked.
Rosetta Allen, 54, who lives in the Bronx and works at a domestic violence shelter, took four buses to deliver diapers to her daughter in Queens, Jamaica.
“They think the pandemic is over, but for many of us it’s not over. We are still suffering,” she said of the increase.
“I’m still struggling to pay the rent and all the rising costs,” she said.
“I had to change four different buses to get here this morning, but they only change me once. It adds up,” she continued. “I can’t afford any more increases. I’m already struggling. It’s ridiculous.”
Alisha Thomas, a 25-year-old statistics researcher at Baruch University in Queens, also lamented the increase in fares at a time when the U.S. is beset by hyperinflation.
“For me, is that like an extra $2 a week or $100 a year? It’s all up too,” she said.
“Yeah, it hurts. It’s not good. But what are you going to do?”
The last time the fare was raised from $2.50 to $2.75 was in 2015, and officials said the planned increase was shelved after passenger numbers plummeted during the COVID-19 pandemic. .
By June, subway ridership had returned to an average of 3.6 million daily riders, according to the MTA, but still a fraction of the 5.7 million riders on the subway every day in 2016. Statistics show.
Subway fares have long outpaced inflation. In 1948 the fare was 1 nickel. In today’s money he is worth $0.63.
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