NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) -- New York City’s transit system approved a fare and toll hike, with the base subway and bus fee increasing by 10 cents to $3 as the transit network phases out its decades-old MetroCard for a tap-and-go payment system.
The board of the MTA, the state agency that runs the city’s subways, buses and two commuter rail lines, voted on Tuesday to increase fares and tolls on or about Jan. 4. The MTA last boosted its fees in 2023.
Weekly and monthly tickets on the Long Island Rail Road and the Metro-North Railroad, which links New York City to its northern suburbs, will go up by as much as 4.5%. One-way fares will increase by no more than 8%.
The additional revenue will help the MTA’s operating budget as the transit provider grapples with inflation and rising labor costs. The new fees will begin about one year after the MTA implemented the nation’s first-ever congestion pricing toll, a controversial program where most motorists pay $9 during peak hours to access Manhattan’s most traffic-clogged streets.
New York’s fare increase appears modest compared with other US transit agencies as lawmakers in Albany have directed more money to the MTA to cover dwindling federal pandemic aid. Fares on Philadelphia’s transit system shot up by 21.5% this month to help address a funding crisis. New Jersey Transit fees went up by 15% in 2024 and again by 3% in July with automatic 3% increases set for every year.
MTA Chief Executive Officer Janno Lieber said the changes are necessary to support service and offer transit employees reasonable wage increases. Transit is one of the few things that make the city affordable, Lieber said during the board meeting.
“New Yorkers spend a lot less of their household income on transportation than people in the rest of the country, and we are determined to keep it that way while also making sure that we can fund our operation,” Lieber said.
The MTA, the largest US transit and commuter-rail system, carries about 6 million weekday rides. It’s a key contributor to the region’s economy and a vital transportation service in a dense environment. The agency is looking to modernize a more than 100-year-old system, boost ridership, reduce fare evasion — which cost the MTA about $1 billion in 2024 — and make the network more reliable and safer.
The vote sparked strong comments from riders at the start of the meeting. Christian Joseph, 28, who works in the science industry, wore a black-and-white baseball cap that read ‘The Fare Ain’t Fair.’ Joseph urged the board to vote against the fare hike and to be on the side of lower-income residents.
“There’s the working and poor people of this city, and there’s those with the deep pockets,” Joseph told the board. “Who are you going to serve? Because the city runs off of the labor, the efforts, the sweat and the blood of poor working people.”
Farewell, MetroCard
After Dec. 31, the MTA will no longer sell the yellow MetroCard, including the prepaid 30-day unlimited card, but riders will still be able to use them into 2026. The transit agency first introduced the MetroCard in 1993 and for decades riders have been swiping the card’s magnetic strip at turnstiles — often with frustration — to access the system. About 81% of subway and bus riders already use OMNY, the contactless form of payment where passengers tap a phone, smart device, credit card or OMNY card.
With the new fees, subway and bus riders will pay no more than $35 over a seven-day period, a $1 increase from the current ceiling. For riders who use a 30-day unlimited MetroCard that currently costs $132, the $35 weekly fee comes out to $140 for 28 days.
The MTA released details of its proposed fare and toll increase on July 30. Transit officials made changes to the fare structures after receiving comments during public hearings in August. The seven-day transit cap was lowered to $35 from a proposed $36. Fares on Metro-North’s Pascack Valley and Port Jervis lines won’t increase because many of those riders connect to NJTransit, which just had a 3% fare hike in July.
Tolls will go up by 7.5% on the MTA’s seven bridges and two tunnels. Passenger vehicles with an E-ZPass will pay $7.46, up from $6.94, to cross the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge, formerly the Triborough Bridge, which links Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx, or to drive through the Queens Midtown Tunnel or the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel, also called the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel.
E-ZPass vehicles paying tolls on the Queens Midtown or the Hugh L. Carey tunnels receive crossing credits during peak hours if they also drive into Manhattan’s congestion-pricing zone.