New York Local News

NEW YORK (CBS) ― Metropolitan Transportation Authority executive director Elliot Sander told CBS 2 HD exclusively on Wednesday that despite the fare hike he wanted New Yorkers to know the public hearings were not an exercise in futility.

"I think that public feedback was extremely helpful," Sander told CBS 2 HD's Jim Rosenfield. "It certainly influenced coming up with the 14-day MetroCard, which we didn't have before.

"While we did not follow all of the feedback or recommendations, it certainly influenced a number of our decisions and was helpful in that way."

The MTA approved Wednesday another round of fare and toll hikes, despite the protests of city straphangers. The only good news to come out of the announcement was the fact that fares for single subway rides will remain at $2 for at least another two years.

That said, many of the 8 million daily passengers who ride the subway, bus and commuter trains will be forced to cough up more for transportation for the third time since 2003.

Sander said waiting for funding from Albany was never really an option.

"Our board with a large majority chose not to do that and they are independent," Sander said. "They came to the conclusion that to delay would mean trusting Albany to come up with an outcome in the next couple of months. We can't depend on that happening."

Under the new plan, motorists who use E-Z pass will also be affected.

Monthly unlimited-ride Metrocard fares will rise $5 to $81. The 7-day metrocards will cost $25, a $1 increase. E-Z pass tolls for cars will increase by 3.8 percent and LIRR and Metro-North fares will jump up between 3.7 percent and 4.2 percent, respectively.

Transit riders weren't too thrilled with the news.

"Us hard working people can't afford the extra money to get on the train," said Brooklyn rider Ato Williams.

Others say if prices go up, so should the quality of service, which has been the subject of straphanger gripes for years.

Straphangers spoke out against the hike and CBS 2 gathered a wish-list for changes from concerned riders, including:

• Faster trains

• Polite service from ticket booth employees said Anthony Dicrescio of Brooklyn.

• On-time buses, as described in bus schedules.

• Cleaner trains and cleaner stations

• Guaranteed regular service on weekends and accurate announcement boxes

• More announcements on delays

"It's not too much to ask that if you're going to ask the working people of this city to dig into their pockets and find that extra money to get to work every day to give them a basic set of standards," said transit advocate Gary Reilly of Brooklyn.

Although the vote was lopsided, there was a lively debate about delaying the hike to see if the legislature can find funds to prevent it. "I'm not rolling the dice here," said MTA board member Barry Feinstein.

But board member Mitchell Pally thought perhaps the organization should. "I don't think we've done enough to avoid a fare increase," he said.

The fare hikes don't go into effect until early March.

If you take the commuter rails you'll be digging even deeper on March 1, while subway and bus riders will feel the pinch on March 2. And if you take bridges and tunnels, you won't be digging into your pockets again until March 16.

For Long Island Rail Road passengers, the price of a monthly pass from Ronkonkoma will now be $267 per month, an $11 increase, and $132 for the year. Commuters in Babylon will see the cost of their monthly pass rise to $239, up $10 a month and $120 annually.

Metro-North commuters also are taking a hit. From White Plains, riders will pay about $191 for a monthly ticket, a $7 increase per month and $84 a year.

In Mount Kisco, it will cost passengers $261 each month, up from $251 -- a $120 increase per year.

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