An increase of that amount would raise the price of a ride from $2.75 to $3.50. The state comptroller said it would take a fare hike of 28 percent to ease the MTA's financial pain. Now, it's just 24 percent - which has helped lead to the $1.6 billion deficit. The new state audit revealed that before the pandemic, subway and bus fare accounted for 42 percent of MTA revenue. They want more money but we are not getting the service that we need! It’s just out of control,' said rider Peggy Banks.

'It shouldn’t even be the fare it is now. That leaves increasing fares, an idea that is very unpopular with riders. 'Any cuts to service, God forbid, is last resort,' he said. In response to the damning report from the comptroller's office, the MTA said in part that they are 'committed maintaining robust service for our riders, and this report underscores that solving post-pandemic budget gaps with fare increases and service cuts alone is not an attractive option.'Īs for how to save costs, MTA Chairman Janno Lieber ruled out one of the methods DiNapoli mentioned. Romney Smith reporting on MTA finances being released

Mta express bus fare