MTA Budget Proposes Fare Hike of 10 Cents

To the anger of bus rider advocates, fares on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s buses and trains would rise by about 7% this fall under a proposed $2.5-billion budget to be unveiled today.

On Thursday, transit chief Julian Burke previewed the spending plan, warning the MTA board that it contains a “modest fare hike in November.”

If the board agrees to the increase, the basic $1.35 bus and rail fare would increase 10 cents to $1.45, the price of a discount token would rise a nickel to 95 cents, the weekly pass would increase by $1 to $12, and the popular monthly pass by $3 to $45.

Fare hikes are controversial at any transit agency, but even more so at the MTA, which is locked in a bitter dispute with bus riders and their advocates over the service the agency provides.

In his remarks, Burke said he expects bus riders--who constitute more than 90% of the MTA’s passengers--to see much better service in the coming year when the transit agency puts 437 new buses on the street to replace some of its aging and breakdown-prone fleet.

The MTA will operate more hours of bus service, hire additional drivers and mechanics and run the Metro Rail subway to Hollywood, Burke said.

To celebrate the start of subway service to Hollywood, the MTA board voted to let the public ride the Red Line free during the opening weekend, June 12 and 13.

The proposal to boost bus and rail fares was immediately denounced by Rita Burgos, an organizer with the Bus Riders Union, who shouted at board members: “How dare you bring up the fare hike” when the agency is challenging the order of a court-appointed special master to buy even more new buses.