Call it the adjustable rate MetroCard.
The MTA may cushion the blow of proposed fare hikes by offering huge discounts to straphangers who sleep in and skip rush hour, officials said yesterday.
The price of a single ride would be raised a whopping 12.5 percent from $2 to $2.25, as part of the two fare hike ideas the agency floated yesterday, but under one plan, riders who buy at least a $6 MetroCard would pay $2 for trips during peak hours and $1.50 off-peak.
This incentive may convince passengers with more flexible schedules to avoid rush hour, thereby lessening the crowds on many lines that already run over capacity, Susan Kupferman, the MTA’s acting chief operating officer, said at a meeting yesterday.This plan may allay fears that congestion pricing will cause even more crowding during the morning rush.
These discounts would fall on the backs of the half of all riders who take advantage of the unlimited ride MetroCards, which will be hiked between 6.5 and 8 percent.
Another option maintains the current fare structure with modest four percent increases to the 30-day and 7-day unlimited MetroCards. For instance, the 30-day card would increase to $79.
Right now only 15 percent of subway riders pay the full $2 fare. Thirty-seven percent take advantage of the buy-five-rides-get-the-sixth-free discount, which amounts to $1.67 per ride. Another 30 percent use the 30-day cards, taking an average of 58 trips for an average fare of $1.31. The remaining 18 percent use the 7-day card.
The two fare hike plans, which the MTA says will increase the agency’s revenues by 6.5 percent and help plug the anticipated $1 billion budget gap the agency expects to have by 2009, will be discussed in public hearings and seminars in November.
Tolls and commuter rails fares will also be hiked. The cash toll will be raised from $4.50 to $5, and the 75 percent of drivers who have easy pass will pay $4.25, compared to the current $4. Commuter rail fares will be increased somewhere between six and 8 percent.
Transit advocates and riders, who have criticized the MTA for proposing fare hikes in a year it expects to have a $300 million surplus, said both proposals were unacceptable.
“Both options are too high,” said Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign. “If the state and city kicked in a modest amount of money the fare hikes would only need to be a dime.”
Transit officials say that because of the limitations of the MetroCard vending machines ability to dispense change, increases must come in 25-cent increments.
Some riders agreed.
“I don’t like either idea and I think their financial predicament may be exaggerated,” said Leon Peterson, 47.
Maria Breza, 31, said she was not opposed to the hike as long as service is improved.
“I’m okay with it – just don’t take away my monthly card,” she said.