The MTA will start holding public hearings Monday on how to hike transit fares and bridge tolls next year.
Agency brass will hear from the riding public in eight meetings—one held in each borough and the surrounding counties—as they consider options on raising MetroCard prices.
The first meetings will be held Monday at Baruch College in Manhattan on 17 Lexington Ave. at 23rd Street and in the Bronx at Hostos Community College on 450 Grand Concourse at 149th Street. Both meetings begin at 5 p.m. and the registration period to comment is from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The two options being considered would raise fares to $2.75, but offer a bigger, 11% bonus for every $5.50 put on a MetroCard or keep fares flat at $2.50 and nix the bonus, currently 5% for every $5 spent. The MTA estrimates that riders effectively pay $2.38 with a bonus now, and that the two fare hike options would make it $2.48 and $2.50 respectively.
Under both plans, the unlimited 30-day MetroCard will cost $116.50 from $112 and the seven-day MetroCard would cost $31 from $30. The $1 fee for new MetroCards will stay in place, according to the MTA.
Monthly and weekly passes on the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North would go up less than 4.25%, while ticket fares would go up between 2.2% and 6.1% depending on destination.
Here is the MTA’s fare hike hearing schedule:
Monday, December 1, 2014:
• Manhattan – Baruch College, Baruch Performing Arts Center, Mason Hall, 17 Lexington Ave. at 23rd Street, New York, NY. Registration period is open from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Hearing begins at 5 p.m.
• Bronx – Hostos Community College, 450 Grand Concourse at 149th Street, Bronx, NY. Registration period is open from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Hearing begins at 5 p.m.
Tuesday, December 2, 2014:
• Westchester – New York State Power Authority, Jaguar Room, 123 Main St., White Plains, NY. Registration period is open from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Hearing begins at 5 p.m.
Wednesday, December 3, 2014:
• Long Island – Hilton Long Island/Huntington, Salon C & D, 598 Broad Hollow Road, Melville, NY. Registration period is open from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Hearing begins at 5 p.m.
• Queens – The Milton G. Bassin Performing Arts Center at York College, Main Stage Theater, 94-20 Guy R. Brewer Blvd, Jamaica, NY. Registration period is open from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Hearing begins at 6 p.m.
Monday, December 8, 2014:
• West of Hudson – Palisades Center, Adler & Besso Community Rooms, 4th Floor, 1000 Palisades Center Drive, West Nyack, NY. Registration period is open from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Hearing begins at 5 p.m.
Wednesday, December 10, 2014:
• Staten Island – College of Staten Island, Center for the Arts, Springer Concert Hall, 2800 Victory Boulevard, Staten Island, NY. Registration period is open from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Hearing begins at 6 p.m.
Thursday, December 11, 2014:
• Brooklyn – Walt Whitman Theater at Brooklyn College, 2900 Campus Road (near the junction of Nostrand Avenue and Avenue H), Brooklyn, NY. Registration period is open from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Hearing begins at 6 p.m.
