MTA fares and tolls are on a path to climb 35 percent over an eight-year span ending in 2015 — more than double the rate of inflation, according to a report from the state comptroller.
The steep price increases — doled out in 2008, 2009 and 2011, and scheduled for 2013 and 2015 — are harmful to riders who rely on the system to get around, Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said.
“Fare and toll hikes continue to outpace inflation, placing a burden on working men and women across the metropolitan region,” he said.
The 2008 fare hikes matched the rate of inflation at around 3.9 percent, he said.
But the agency’s shaky finances took a turn for the worse just a year later, when its dedicated tax revenues plummeted.
That prompted a 10 percent hike in fares and tolls, which was quickly followed by a 7.5 percent price increase in 2011.
At that point, fares had risen 21.4 percent in four years.
Inflation, meanwhile, climbed only 8.9 percent in the same period.
Fare hikes are scheduled for next year and 2015, both of which will likely raise prices by another 7 percent each.
That will raise fares and toll prices 35.4 percent higher than the 2007 rates, according to DiNapoli’s report.
Inflation is expected to be 15.3 percent for the same period. Crushing fare hikes aside, DiNapoli’s report said that in many instances the agency’s finances have improved “appreciably” over the past two years.
Part of the turnaround stems from the recovering economy, which has brought increased ridership and higher projected tax collections.
In addition, the MTA has instituted a host of cost-cutting expected to save as much as $213 million by 2016, DiNapoli said.
“The MTA’s finances are stabilizing,” the comptroller added.
But looming issues remain, he said, including an estimated $20 billion necessary to keep the system in good repair.
MTA Chairman Joseph Lhota called the report “thoughtful and thorough.”
“[It] recognizes the significant financial challenges the MTA faces in the near term, the aggressive steps we have taken to meet them, and our ongoing efforts to address longer-term challenges, including identifying funding sources for our 2015-2019 capital program,” he said.