New York City’s subway and bus fares will bump up to $3 on Sunday.
It’s a 10-cent increase since the last fare hike in 2023. The MTA for years has found creative ways to avoid increasing the cost of a single ride to an even $3 as it contends with growing costs and inflation. In 2017, the agency held the cost of a single ride at $2.75 but increased the cost of unlimited ride passes to make up the difference.
Transit officials also held the fare at $2.75 in 2019, and got rid of bonuses given to MetroCard users who loaded up their fare cards with cash value. Gov. Kathy Hochul paused a planned fare hike to $2.90 in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But increasing the fare to $3 this time around was unavoidable, since the MTA board proposes and votes on increasing the fare by 4% every two years as operating costs increase.
The fare hike comes as the MTA completes its full transition into the OMNY system and abandons the 30-day unlimited passes offered to MetroCard users. The new system allows for weekly unlimited passes, which will now require riders to pay $35 within 7 days after tapping into the system 12 times, before riding for free.
The surcharge to purchase a new OMNY card is also going up from $1 to $2, but MTA officials said that price hike won’t go into effect until later in 2026, when fare gates no longer accept MetroCards with remaining balances.
Express bus commuters traveling from far-flung neighborhoods of Staten Island, Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx will pay $7.25 per ride, a 25-cent increase. Reduced fare express bus riders will pay $3.60 per ride.
The MTA is also introducing new rules for how Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North commuters board the trains. Under new rules approved by the agency’s board, riders will be required to activate their tickets on their smartphones before they board. Conductors can issue $8 surcharges to riders who catch waiting until the last minute to activate their ticket.
Drivers face an even bigger price hike on Sunday. The MTA is increasing the toll rates on its nine bridges and tunnels by 7.5%. For example, a car traveling through the Queens-Midtown Tunnel with an EZPass will now pay $7.46.
