The cash-strapped Port Authority should consider raising AirTrain fares to JFK Airport and instituting distance-based pricing on the PATH, a new audit of the agency’s finances says.
The audit — which the New York and New Jersey governors ordered as a condition of approving hikes last year — found that even with added toll revenue, the agency still faces substantial financial hurdles, including an estimated $44 billion in looming capital costs.
To pay the enormous amount, the audit recommends charging more for longer PATH trips. The PA has already scheduled three years of 25-cent fare increases, sending the price of a ticket to $2.75 by October 2014.
The audit also recommends the agency hike the $5 cost of the AirTrain.
The report is the second top-to-bottom review of the agency since last year’s fare hikes were enacted.
The first called the agency “dysfunctional.”
The latest one praised the PA for new initiatives, like having non-union workers contribute to health care.