MTA Board Discusses Congestion Pricing Discounts After Approving Subway and Bus Fare Increases

by Mindy Cohn

The MTA's Traffic and Mobility Board held a public meeting yesterday to discuss critical decisions on just how much congestion pricing and transit fare increases will cost those who need to get around New York City.

Congestion pricing, which will charge drivers below 60th Street in Midtown Manhattan, is slated to go into effect as early as next spring.

Congestion pricing is expected to net $15 billion to fund part of the MTA 2020-2024 Capital Program,

Board members discussed exemptions as well as discounts for the Holland Tunnel, the Lincoln Tunnel (to and from New Jersey), the Queens-Midtown Tunnel, and the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel. An exact discount percentage was not decided on, but the possibility of discounting the tool to half the original price of congestion pricing during the day was discussed.

The board did not take questions or comments from the public during Wednesday's meeting. 

The next time they meet, the board is expected to have a proposed fare structure and answers to the public's questions on who gets exemptions, what peak and off-peak tolling prices will be, and if trucks will be charged less overnight as a way to avoid congestion.

In the meantime, the MTA board has already agreed on subway and bus fare increases, with jumps from $2.75 to $2.90 scheduled for August 20. 

Other fare hikes include the NYC Transit, LIRR, and Metro-North Railroad fares which are going up 4%, and tolls on MTA bridges and tunnels, which are scheduled to rise an average of 5.5% on August 6 or 10% for those without E-Z Pass.

MTA fare hikes include express buses, which will go up twenty-five cents to seven dollars. Seven-day unlimited-ride MetroCards will cost a dollar extra at $34. A 30-day unlimited MetroCards is going up five dollars to $132. Single rides on subways and buses are going up twenty-five cents to $3.25 while 7-Day Express Bus Plus MetroCards will go up by two dollars to $64. Discounts for seniors and reduced fares remain the same.

The fare increases are expected to generate $305 million in new MTA revenue slated for capital improvements and operating costs.

Even though New York State's budget included more than a billion dollars in funding for the agency, the MTA claims that fare hikes would have been even higher without that new funding.