Updated 03/25/2009 07:59 AM
Full MTA Board To Vote Today On Doomsday Budget
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As the Metropolitan Transportation Authority prepares to vote this morning on a plan to raise fares and cut service, the agency is warning that the actions will not even fill its widening budget gap.
The agency's finance committee approved the fare hike portion of its so-called doomsday budget Monday.
The full board is set to approve the plan with service cuts later today.
NY1 will have live coverage of the MTA vote this morning, beginning at 9:30.
Under the MTA's proposal, base fares would jump to $2.50, and monthly MetroCards would rise to $103.
Subway lines and bus routes would also be eliminated in all five boroughs. Eight bus lines and one subway line would be eliminated in Queens alone.
Riders told NY1 that these changes will make it harder for them to get around.
"I'd have to find another job. That would hurt me bad," said one commuter. "I would have to find another job."
"Yeah it would be hard, because then you gotta take a cab or walk or something like that. Take bikes and everything," said another. "The price should stay down."
"They're going to keep raising it and raising it until we can't pay for it anymore," said a third. "You know what we're going to start doing? We're going to start walking."
The fare hikes would take effect around June 1.
"We are the economic engine of the region and these fare increases and these service cuts are just horrific," said MTA Chairman Dale Hemmerdinger. "And I don't think people understand unless they've read through this book just how bad they really are. This is just terrible."
"Usually, the MTA is the villain of the peace, but this time around they're clearly in financial distress and they need help from Albany," said Gene Russianoff of the advocacy group the Straphangers Campaign. "And without it, the riders are going to take it on the chin with a big fare hike and really massive service cuts."
The MTA's budget gap for this year had been projected at $1.2 billion, but it could grow larger. In the first three months of this year, tax revenue from real estate transactions is $123 million below forecast.
The MTA's chief financial officer warned Monday the MTA is coming up with cost-cutting measures that will slice even deeper than the current service reductions already slated to happen.