The MTA is raising fares.
We can stop them.
The public comment period is open for us to make the case that New Yorkers deserve an affordable and accessible transit system, now more than ever. Make your voice heard.
The Issue
Every two years, the MTA must review its fares and policies. This year the review comes at an inopportune time: the MTA is currently in dire financial straits because of the ongoing pandemic and financial crisis. But working New Yorkers shouldn’t have to foot the bill.
Proposed changes include:
Eliminating unlimited 7-day and 30-day passes or raising their prices
Increasing express bus fares from $6.75 up to $7.25
Eliminating reduced fare options (for example, Medicare-eligible or seniors)
Increasing the fee for a new MetroCard to $3
Increasing ticket prices for commuter rail (Metro-North and LIRR)
You can read the full text of the proposed changes here.
How to submit a comment
Submitting a written comment can be done at this link.
You can also give public testimony - the links to register for a given day can be found at this link.
You can make your comment by phone at 646-252-6777 between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.
Why It Matters
Increasing transit access is key to reducing carbon emissions, which makes public transit essential to a Green New Deal. Investing in public transit reduces fossil fuel use, stimulates the economy, and lessens air pollution, which in turn reduces respiratory diseases like asthma. It’s clear that we should be incentivizing transit use and making it easier to access, not more difficult.
During the coronavirus pandemic, essential workers rely on the MTA to get to and from their jobs. Any cuts to service or raising fares will affect these workers most. Further, essential workers are disproportionately people of color, who are also the most criminalized group for fare evasion. To support our essential workers, we need to fully fund transit and make it accessible to all.
The MTA needs money, to be sure. The pandemic has drastically decreased major funding sources such as fare revenue and dedicated taxes. But the burden should not fall on working New Yorkers to bail out the system, especially if the MTA wishes to return to pre-pandemic ridership. The Biden administration and our New York leaders must tax the rich to fund the MTA - it is our only chance for a complete economic recovery.
What To Say
Establish credibility in your opening sentence. State who you are and any experience you have - even being a transit rider is enough!
Provide strong evidence for your position. The economic recovery of our city hinges on an accessible transit system - it is the foundational infrastructure of our lives.
Use the mission statement of the MTA to make your point: “The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) preserves and enhances the quality of life and economic health of the region it serves through the cost-efficient provision of safe, on-time, reliable, and clean transportation services.”
Consider examples of how the rate hikes would affect you personally.
Here’s an example
You can use this as a blueprint to create your own comment.
Hello MTA leadership and board members. My name is [NAME] and I am a transit rider. I use the [subway/bus/commuter rail] to [attend school/go to work/get to medical appointments/shop for groceries/other reason]. [Optional: I am an essential worker, and I rely on the MTA to perform my job].
I oppose the MTA’s proposal to raise fares on commuters like myself. [A sentence or two detailing how you or your community will be affected if fares rise.] The MTA needs help, but it should not come at the expense of working people.
As [a member of the Sunrise Movement’s NYC hub, a group of young people motivated to stop climate change / someone concerned about the environment], and as a New Yorker, I know that transit will play a massive role in New York City’s recovery from the coronavirus. Public transit is essential for stopping climate change and, quoting from your mission statement, “enhances the quality of life and economic health” of our region’s economy. If we raise fares, our essential workers and most vulnerable populations will bear the brunt - far from the just recovery we need.
[A sentence about why transit access matters to you.] It’s clear we should be expanding transit access, not making it more expensive. As such, I urge the leadership and board to vote against any fare increases and against eliminating time-based passes. Thank you.
