MTA pushing for 23% fare hike to cover 2009 budget shortfall

BY PETE DONOHUE
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Let the fare hike process begin.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority's governing board Thursday authorized the agency to start the ball rolling in scheduling toll and fare hike hearings.

As reported in the Daily News, the MTA said it will have to raise fare revenue by 23% next year in order to stanch a gaping $1.2 billion budget gap.

MTA CEO Elliot Sander and Chairman Dale Hemmerdinger said  the Albany Legislature has until March to adopt a bailout package that could avert the hikes and cuts, or at least lesson their severity.

"We can't make the money, we can't print it. Someone has to pay for the services we provide," said MTA chairman Dale Hemmerdinger at Thursday's board meeting.

That means the cost of a subway ride could skyrocket from $2 to $2.50 to $3, a possibility first reported in The Daily News on Nov. 12.

While the exact details of the hike are still being discussed, another round of crippling fare increases appears unavoidable.

Service cuts could start being felt as early as spring and the fare hikes could hit in June. Commuter lines will also feel the blow of the budget ax.

As The News also reported this week, the transit authority is also proposing service cuts that include the elimination of several bus and subway lines.

Approximately 2800 positions could be cut through attrition and layoffs, the largest catagories being station agents and bus drivers.