Cash-strapped transit officials have come up with more possibilities in the event there is no bailout of the MTA, including requiring bus patrons to pay more for using coins and a 26 percent fare hike on the Long Island Rail Road.Under the latest plan, bus patrons would pay a quarter extra on buses if they used coins rather than a MetroCard.
The basic fare on subways and buses would increase from $2 to $3, although the fare for the straphanger using a MetroCard would rise to $2.25.
“This provides encouragement for customers to buy a MetroCard,” said MTA chief spokesman Jeremy Soffin. “The MetroCard saves time and money.”
The MTA has long contended that passengers using coins slow down the boarding process on buses.
MTA expects to charge bus riders 25 cents extra if they use coins
12 comments:
The 24-29% fare increase on the LIRR is more disturbing.
Perhaps the bike nuts are right and we better get with their program.
www.forgotten-ny.com
What about days of black ice?
How about reducing expenses ?
Retirement plans are now non-existant in most jobs. Let the MTA (and MBTA) employees deal with their own retirement like the rest of us do. Also no medical after retirememnt.
That should save a few billion over several years.
Coins take less time then metrocards? Um, I don't think so! But you know what really takes less time than coins OR metrocards on buses? Tokens. It used to be quicker to board buses with tokens. Let's be honest!
Stupid me. I meant to say coins take MORE time than metrocards??? (Cause they don't.)
Lets enforce passengers getting off the back of the bus. I think that takes up more time. Though I guess that would mean MTA fixing all the broken backdoors. :)
Most people using coins are Seniors and they will take time due to being slower anyway, not the actual coin drop. Certainly trying to make the new fangled Metrocard work properly can be as hard for them. This is a very lame excuse for the MTA. It's a bus, not a pit stop for a race car.
ew-3 said...
How about reducing expenses ?
Retirement plans are now non-existant in most jobs. Let the MTA (and MBTA) employees deal with their own retirement like the rest of us do. Also no medical after retirememnt.
That should save a few billion over several years.
__________________________________
Highly unrealistic. Which elected officials are going to propose that? Which union official is going to accept that?
Maybe on your job there's no retirement plan, but a lot of either people have it, and they won't give it up without a fight.
"Maybe on your job there's no retirement plan, but a lot of either people have it, and they won't give it up without a fight."
There isn't at my job, just like most others. Government workers and unions are the last bastions of subsidized retirement. And we the taxpayer cover the tab.
It is about time that those groups start paying their own way.
There isn't at my job, just like most others. Government workers and unions are the last bastions of subsidized retirement. And we the taxpayer cover the tab.
And because YOU don't have a pension, no one else should? What sort of reasoning is that? When you're 70 - provided you live that long - you'll wish you had a defined benefit plan instead of a defined contribution plan.
I suspect that CJ like myself was referring to a lack of formal pension plans. Most workers have IRA and 401K choices. And we don't get lifetime medical.
The difference here is that my employer can't just increase revenue when it needs it, like the MTA can.
MONEY...coins included (read the back of a federal reserve note)
"is legal tender for all debts public and private"!
Isn't it thus against federal statutes to refuse the acceptance of MONEY or to impose a surcharge for using hard cash?
Now let's examine that second set of account books that the MTA keeps well hidden to see if a deficit
actually exists!
Post a Comment