Despite promising to not raise fares until next year, MTA board members are considering increasing the cost of MetroCards in an attempt to balance a budget that will still come up short by $378 million even after service cuts. "In view of the reaction we got to the service reductions we have out there, I think that asking most board members if they'd rather see more service cuts or a fare increase, I think, at the moment, many would pick a fare increase," said one board member.
According to the Post, upping the cost of commuting is just one of many cost-cutting options on the table. Past reports have indicated that 2011's planned 7.5 percent fare hike could turn out being larger, though some insiders think the rumored 2010 fare hike might actually be the proposed 2011 fare hike, moved forward. MTA spokesman Jeremy Soffin said the agency's position fare hikes "has not changed. It remains our intention to raise the fare in 2011 as agreed upon last year."
Amidst public outcry, the MTA is reportedly considering rescuing several endangered bus lines, but it is still planning to reduce service, cut the W train and many buses, and eliminate free student MetroCards. The Daily News reports that the plan to fire 450 token booth clerks would bring on "the lowest levels of subway station staffing in more than a decade"—with 25 percent fewer workers than in 1999.
