For most of us, life in the world since the Covid pandemic has returned to normal or nearly normal. However, there are a few pretty major changes still going on. A few people, of course, still die of the virus every day. There are still shortages of certain items. And, of course, some people now work remotely, or in a hybrid situation.
That latter situation affects more than the workers and their employers. It also affects every business or service that employees use. Corporations have given up their offices, leaving office space available for rent for months or years. Places that used to count on workers stopping at their establishments for lunch are feeling the crunch. And, of course, ridership on the country’s mass transit systems is still down.
In NYC, ridership on the Big Apple’s subways and buses still hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels. With that, leaders of NYC’s Mass Transit Association (MTA) are trying to figure out a way to or ways to help fill an upcoming budget gap of almost $3 billion. One of those ways they’re reportedly considering is raising mass transit rates for the first time since the pandemic began,
The New York Times reports that officials are making financial plans for the next 4 years, and have presented fare increases as one of the ways to offset the loss of riders. If the authority board approves that plan, the base fare could rise to $2.90 by 2023 and to $3.02 in 2025. The current base fare has been $2.75 since March, 2015 (the price was supposed to go up in 2021, but the plan was shelved in an attempt to get more riders back as the pandemic waned).
Before any fare hike can take place, it would need to go through a process of public hearings and a board vote.
The MTA does offer a reduced rate for those who take mass transit on a regular basis. They even offer a half-price option via OMNY. However, although any price changes of those options haven’t been publicly announced, there’s always the possibility they will go up, as well.
The NYC subway system has garnered more complaints than usual in recent years, from safety to timeliness. A fare increase will not endear any rider to a system that’s already not in potential riders’ good graces.
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