Fare Hikes

Two weeks ago, Hillary Clinton introduced a bill in the Senate to provide emergency funds for local transit agencies. Since then, the rest of the delegation from New York and New Jersey appears to have lined up behind the legislation. "We believe that Senators Schumer, Lautenberg, and Menendez support it," says Larry Hanley of the Amalgamated Transit Union, which helped to push the bill forward in both chambers of Congress (the House passed it in June). That leaves 56 votes to achieve a filibuster-proof Senate majority.

The MTA just released some figures from its preliminary 2009 financial plan. Here's what was actually happening to our transit system while the dailies were focused like a laser beam on board members' travel perks and the CEO's "scandalous" three percent raise:

Transit agencies all over the country are nearing a state of emergency. At the same time that rising gas prices are leading more Americans to opt for buses and trains, transit operators are being forced to cut service and raise fares due to budget shortfalls.

His license plate rationing scheme beloved by none, this afternoon Assemblyman Richard Brodsky offered his second congestion pricing alternative: raising the $2.50 taxi "drop charge" to $6.50, increasing fines for illegal parking and blocking the box, and further cutting the number of parking placards issued to government employees.

Reactions were mixed to yesterday's MTA fare hike approval. That is to say -- with the exception of the New York Post -- there was enough criticism to go around as to generally avoid repetition.

City Room reports:

"If you were to design the ultimate system, you would have mass transit be free and charge an enormous amount for cars."

Webster Avenue and Fordham Road, the Bronx

Following weeks of relative silence on the issue, state legislators have written a letter to the MTA asking it to postpone a planned fare hike in order to give Albany time to work up a funding increase.