NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — To the displeasure of straphangers across all five boroughs, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Wednesday announced plans to increase fares twice over the next three years. Riders who’ve had it with bad service say they’re not happy about the Wednesday bombshell. “As we stated in November and February, the MTA requires new revenue for operations and for capital,” MTA Chief Financial Officer Robert Foran said. Translation? Despite the delays, the breakdowns, and the frustrations, fares are going up for subways, commuter lines, and buses. Riders across the board weren’t happy about it. “I think it’s absurd,” one straphanger told CBS2. “It’s not like we’re seeing an improvement in service.” “As a student I think it’s really challenging,” one woman said. The MTA announced it will raise fares by four percent in both 2019 and 2021. As for specific details, those may take a while. “Those are forecasted, they’re still subjected to our needs,” Foran said. “They’re subject to our public hearings and subject to board action. We’ve increased saving targets, we just have to cut more cost.” But what about the delays, or the constantly crammed subway cars, and the so-called “incidents” that could make you hours late for work? The MTA says they’re working on it. “The figure I plugged in is not particularly scientific at the moment,” Transit Authority President Andy Byford said. “I just said at the moment we’re around 70,000 delay incidents a month and that’s far too high.” In response, Byford says he’s proposed a target of 10,000 “incidents” by the end of 2018. The one thing the MTA has been consistent with all along is fare hikes. The newest round of raises will bring the total number to seven since 2009, part of the plan to raise fares every two years as part of a financial rescue. Riders say they’re just not buying it. “The fares increase, but the service just stays the same or gets worse,” one man said. MTA Chair Joe Lhota says the state of emergency remains in place, along with the subway action plan.
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Straphangers Irate Over MTA’s Plan To Hike Fares Twice Over Next 3 Years
