June 19, 2023
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REMINDER: MTA Online Portal Now Open for Public Comment on Fare and Toll Change |
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Agency to Host Four Hybrid Public Hearings on Proposed Fare Changes Beginning Thursday, June 22 Register Online or Call the Public Hearing Hotline to Speak at Any Scheduled Hearing Customers Can Provide Comments In-Person, Online, Mail, Phone or Virtually Via Zoom The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today reminded the public that comments on proposed changes to fares and tolls can be submitted online, as outlined at the MTA Board Finance Committee in May. In addition, a series of four hybrid public fare hearings will be held next week between Thursday, June 22 and Monday, June 26. All hearings will take place in person at MTA Headquarters located at 2 Broadway, New York, on the 20th Floor in the William J. Ronan Board Room and will be streamed live via Zoom and YouTube. Members of the public who wish to speak can provide comments either in person or via Zoom. The MTA Board will vote on the fare and toll changes in July 2023 with changes expected to go into effect no later than Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 4. After a pause during the COVID-19 pandemic, the MTA is resuming its practice of adopting fare and toll increases every other year – a modest and predictable increase that helps to keep up with inflation. The planned 2023 fare change is in line with the standard biennial 4% increase in fare revenue, rather than 5.5% thanks to the $65 million secured by Governor Hochul and the New York State Legislature in the State budget. Members of the public who wish to only view the hearings online may access the event live at the respective links below. Hybrid Public Hearing Dates Thursday, June 22, 2023, 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Livestream link. The MTA will make accommodations for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, people who are blind or have low vision, and people who require language assistance or other accommodations. Click here for more information. How to Register to Speak Registration for each public hearing opened Saturday, June 3 and will close at the start of the hearing. If you register to speak online, you may join the scheduled hearing either online or by phone. See here for more details. In addition to providing verbal comments at the hearings, comments may be submitted online, by email, mail, and phone. Online: Customers can submit a written or video comment here. Mail: MTA Government & Community Relations Phone: (646) 252-6777, telephone agents are available from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily. All comments will be made part of the public record and shared with the MTA Board for review. New York City Transit Proposals Unlimited Ride Passes
Senior Citizen, Disabled, Student Reduced Fare, and Paratransit Zero Fare discount policies remain unchanged. Fare Capping Pilot With OMNY The proposed change would allow the best fare to be guaranteed over a rolling 7-day period instead of the current fixed Monday through Sunday period. With this change, customers would be guaranteed never to pay more than the cost of a Weekly Unlimited Ride MetroCard no matter what day of the week they begin tapping – and without the burden of pre-paying. Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad Proposals The discount for traveling off-peak would be standardized to a 26% discount from the peak fare across both railroads. Until now, Metro-North’s discount was 25% and LIRR’s 27.5%. Other ticket types would increase over a wide range; however, any ticket increase greater than 6% would be held to a maximum increase of 50 cents per trip. LIRR and Metro-North would continue to offer UniTicket fares to travel on both commuter rail and connecting bus and ferry services. Changes in those fares would be based in part on changes to weekly and monthly transit fares. One-way tickets for MTA-managed connecting services would also change. Policies regarding the calculation of onboard fares and refunds would remain unchanged. CityTicket Pilot Options The benefit of the Atlantic Ticket would effectively be folded and expanded into the new CityTicket. As such, both the $5 One-Way Atlantic Ticket and $62 Weekly Atlantic Ticket may be discontinued. Additionally, the commuter railroad fare structure would be standardized and simplified for all customers traveling within city limits. The MTA is also developing a special CityTicket for customers traveling to/from Far Rockaway on the LIRR at the same price as the CityTicket. Modifications to the Peak 20-Trip Ticket MTA Bridges and Tunnels Proposals
The existing toll discount programs for Rockaways/Broad Channel residents using the Cross Bay Bridge and Staten Island residents using the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge would remain in effect.
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