Aug 27, 2007 1:34 pm US/Eastern
DiNapoli To MTA: Don't Strap Riders With Fare Hike
State Comptroller Says Fare Hike Should Be 'Last Resort'
by Brendan Keefe
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
A high-level state official says the MTA doesn't need a fare hike and says he has the numbers to prove it. A 12-page report offers a scathing rebuke of the MTA's plan to raise fares and tolls.
In the report, state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says a fare hike should be implemented only as a last resort.
More officials are getting on the "no fare hike" bus, saying the MTA's proposed 6.5 percent transit increase can be avoided.
DiNapoli unveiled his report Monday morning, calling on the MTA to hold off on the fare hike by tightening its own belt instead of strapping straphangers with the bill.
But the transit agency insists the fare must be raised to avoid billion-dollar deficits predicted starting in 2009.
MTA chief Elliot Sander said, "This plan, if we're able to execute it, will provide long-term fiscal stability."
The state comptroller isn't the first to question the need for a fare hike.
City Comptroller William Thompson came out against the MTA's plan earlier this month by offering alternatives for shoring up holes in the budget.
"Fairness dictates that instead of asking New York City transit riders to dig into their pockets, we step up to the plate and do what's right," Thompson said.
The options include asking Albany for more money, especially with pro-transit Governor Eliot Spitzer now at the helm, and using revenues from Mayor Bloomberg's yet-to-be-approved congestion pricing plan.
DiNapoli's report criticized the MTA for talking about hikes in subway, bus and train fares -- along with higher tolls at its bridges and tunnels -- before we know how much money could be coming from those other sources.
Subway riders are happy to hear there's an "underground" movement to stop the increases. However, DiNapoli's report carries no mandate for the MTA. The state comptroller has no authority to force a decision one way or the other.
But as the MTA moves toward a December decision, it can't ignore the fact that the top budget auditors of both the state and the city have come out against the fare hike.
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