Straphangers won’t be on the hook for any of the $5 billion needed to repair transit system damages incurred during monster storm Sandy — at least not any time soon.
MTA Chairman Joseph Lhota said that planned biannual fare and toll increases — currently pegged at around seven percent — won’t be hiked any higher to help pay for the storm destruction.
“The burden of Sandy will not be on the riders,” said Lhota.
Still-to-be-determined fare and toll hikes will go into effect in March, followed by another round in 2015.
The agency will have to borrow the funds to fix the system while waiting for FEMA to reimburse it, incurring about $125 million in interest over three years that the feds won’t pay back.
That’s bad news for riders because interest payments come out of the operating budget, which is partially funded by fares and tolls.
Any strain on the operating budget puts pressure on the agency to raise fares.
“There’s no magic here. Bonds have to be paid back and they have to be paid back by the customers,” said Gene Russianoff, head of Straphangers Campaign.
In addition, the agency cautioned yesterday that some $950 million of the storm expenses might not be reimbursed.
If that’s the case, the MTA will issue bonds to cover the costs, which would cost it $62 million a year.
jennifer.fermino@nypost.com