The riders blame the MTA. The MTA blames the politicians. The politicians blame each other. The buck never stops anywhere. No one admits fault. No one fixes the problem. I feel like I'm riding the X15 Downtown Loop from hell....

Say goodbye to 26 bus routes and two subway lines. And say hello to a 23 percent increase in fares and tolls. To plug a billion-dollar budget gap for next year, the MTA is proposing drastic service cuts and a jump in fares and tolls. It may also eliminating 2,500 jobs.

The proposed service cuts include eliminating 26 bus routes: 21 local and 5 express. They are the B23, B25, B37, B39, B51, B75, Bx4, Bx14, Bx20, Bx34, M6, M8, M10, M18, M27, M30, Q26, Q56, Q74, Q75, Q84, X25, X32, QM22, QM23 and BxM7B. Several other lines will lose weekend and overnight service.

The MTA says these routes "have practical bus and or subway alternatives" for New Yorkers. Do you agree?

If approved, how will these service cuts and fare hikes affect your commute? If you are angry, what do you plan to do about it? Will you take part in the public hearings on the MTA's budget plan in January?

Send us your thoughts using the link above.

AS A CITIZEN OF THIS STATE I THINK THAT MAT DESERVE TO RAISE THE FARES. THEY ARE OFFERING GREAT SERVICE 24 HOURS AND IF THEY ARE UNABLE TO MEET THEIR COST THEY MUST INCREASE THE FARES. PEOPLES SHOULD RELAIZED THAT 50 CENTS OR $ 1. DOES NOT MAKE TEH DIFFERNCE.

THANKS
AMIR

I think they should put a toll on every MAJOR CROSSING in NY! If WE have to pay to get off the island then EVERYONE ELSE SHOULD HAVE TO PAY TOO!

Why should I have to pay $15 a day (they are raising the XBus fares to $7.50 each way) to take mass transit to work?

I am doing as they say, taking mass transit, my car isn't on the road during rush hour, and I am not part of the congestion problem. So I feel the people who do not comply with this should be penalized. Charge every GOSH DARN (you know those aren't the words I want to write here) car that crosses a FREE bridge! Screw them - they should feel it just as much as I will!

Where does all this money go? It's not like we have state of the art buses and trains! Who is getting bonuses and why do people get bonuses for doing their job properly anyway? It's so appalling that the public has to pick up the slack for these idiots!

THERE SHOULD BE AN AUDIT OF THE MTA! THEY SHOULD ALL BE TAKING MASS TRANSIT TO WORK LIKE WE DO! THEY SHOULD NOT GET ANY DISCOUNTS WHAT SO EVER! I DON'T CARE IF THEY ARE ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR GOD! THEY SHOULD PAY LIKE EVERYONE ELSE! THEY ARE NOT ABOVE US! WHAT THE HELL DO THEY DO WITH ALL THE MONEY WE GIVE?!! SOMEONE NEEDS TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THIS! THIS IS LITERALLY INSANE!

Mary from Eltingville

my name is anthony and im from queens.. im a electrician who travels to the city every morning.. i think even with the mta getting more expensive its still the cheaptest way to get around the city. new yorkers just been too spoiled.. the only people im worried about are the disabled.. goodnight spoiled new york

This is an email sent to my City Council Representative:

Mr Liu,
My issue is about the Express buses. Many people in the reaches of the Boroughs work as I do, in shifts. I work all over the clock, late nights, overnights etc. I also must be on call in the event of an emergency. When traveling at these off hours commuting time doubles and often triples. Also, these are not the safest times to be waiting in the subway or at bus stops. My most valuable transportation asset was the Municipal parking lot at Queens Plaza. What ever the situation, I always knew I could drive to the lot and jump on a train or or in a cab or even walk over the bridge.

Now that the Mayor has sold all of the Municipal parking lots to real estate developers, the only affordable, timely and safe alternative I can see (for myself) would be extending the hours of the Express Busses. I would gladly pay $6.00 or even $10.00 for a late night ride home. Cab rides at $30 are getting a little expensive. I am not suggesting they run at the same frequency as during the morning or evening rush, maybe every hour or 90 minuets.

Just a thought...
Thank you for your service,
Michael

may i suggest that it is the role of our former fourth estate to be our advocate not to merely relegate their role to that of town-crier. That is how these apparatchicks consistently rob us blind with your bemusement. More editorial opinion and remonstration is needed. Also why cant they be audited and held accountable or if bloomberg is such a wunderkind let him get an injunction or stay. I believe that Eliza Doolittle-Quinn is in cahhoots with the MTA and hizzoner-not.

John
Kissena Park

well....

it sucks.

Jon
UWS

For once will MTA hold public hearings when 9-5-ers can participate?

MTA must really be out of their minds. I would like to know who at MTA is getting a bonus, and whether the train & bus operators and toll booth clerks are getting raises. Could someone please explain where the surplus and the money for the 2nd Ave. subway went? Did someone invest it in a hedge fund and lose their shirt or what? This mismanager should pay the fare hike him- or herself.

Liz from Sunnyside

What disturbs me is the proposed $4.00/trip fare on Access A Ride: that's taxing disabled and elderly riders already skimping on their meds so they can pay rent & eat.

Shame on the MTA.

Arlene
Sheepshead Bay

It's a shame that MTA wants to raise the fare,and cut service, when the service is not even that good, and it's just taking more money from the public in a time when the economy is bad, and service will still remain below average. with buses running less frequently how are students like myself supposed to get to school, and work.People will be better off taking taxi service and dollar vans if MTA keeps increasing the fare.

Kadeem L
Brooklyn, NY

Hi John,

I don't understand this, How are we going to get around to get to work and take care of our business. From what I understand the mgt is not cutting their salaries. You ask what we can do about it. well it seems that no matter how many meetings we have such as the one about extending term limits the mayor still signed the bill with all of his arrogance attached to it. Also the feeling we all have is that we are being dictated to about every issue concerning us in every way. It is always one sided in every way., Imagine raising the fair having to pay all of that extra money for the metro cards and also find out that part of your service has also been canceled.

We just don't stand a chance at all. We know that most of us grew up poor and have many hard times in our life but hey don't rub it in our faces.

Maxxiee
Morris Park

John,

The Q-84 is about 2 miles from the nearest subway. That's unrealistic.As I said before the fare hikes and elimination of bus lines is a done deal. We have no recourse but to pay. That means I will be leaving NYC

Jeanne
Flushing, NY

There is still no place in America that has more transportation options consistently over the course of a day as inexpensive as NY which has an exposure of millions of people.

However that doesn't condone less service over the next few years. I am praying Sean Hannity is right and maybe the market place will step up and introduce competition that will force labor to come up with more reasonable wage scales for employees, thusd maintaing costs. Managemnet though will jump at the bailout trough, those hungry rats. The MTA is run like a bureaucratic monopoly with no down side, while others are losing their jobs and benefits. Perhaps capitalism will give the MTA the forced humility they require.

However the question remains, where will one get transportation that can take them from the upper reaches of Harlem and the Bronx to the Far Rockaways and Staten Island for only $2.50?

Perhaps Borough Commuters should consult out of state residents to get an idea of how much their commute costs, how it is infrequent and unreliable. We NYC residents ( I am an original and recent former) have had it easy these last few decades.

David
Lakewood NJ

Another example of the unfairness of the MTA toward Staten Islanders. It is totally unfair and unjust to propose an increase of 50% in the fare. The express service for majority of Staten Commuters is the only public transit obtain

Tom
Richmontown

As a native New Yorker, I have been riding the train my entire life. Yet, I have never seen the trains more filthy, or the service so awful. The fact that the MTA wants to cut service and raise the fare is absolutely ridiculous! The trains have become so packed that I often have to let up to two of them pass before I can even board the third one.

Because I live so close the the 59th Street Bridge, I am seriously considering walking to the city everyday instead of taking the train.

Nicole
Long Island City, Queens

My letter to Elliot Sander speaks for itself, nothing but pure facts. To the riding public that get up early every morning to ride the bus & subway, you are being taken for a ride. please check the numbers:

MTA 2007 BUS RIDERSHIP:
ANNUAL RIDERSHIP: 738,039,531
AVERAGE WEEKDAY: 2,356,301
AVERAGE SATURDAY: 1,468,222
AVERAGE SUNDAY: 1,081,197

MTA 2007 SUBWAY RIDERSHIP:
ANNUAL RIDERSHIP: 1,562,515,065
AVERAGE WEEKDAY: 5,042,263
AVERAGE SATURDAY: 2,917,270
AVERAGE SUNDAY: 2,211,502

LIRR RIDERSHIP HIGHEST IN 60 YEARS: 86.1 MILLION - THE HIGHEST SINCE 1949
INCREASE OF 4.9% FROM 2006

CONSIDERING THAT I WORK ON THE #7 LINE, THERE IS ABOUT 400,000- 450,000 DAILY COMMUTERS PAYING $4.00 DOLLARS ROUND TRIP:
1.8 MILLION DOLLARS A DAY
9.0 MILLION DOLLARS A WEEK
BASED ON ONLY "5" DAY WORK TRAVEL

AND ELLIOT SANDER "THE MTA" ARE BROKE, WHO IS DOING THE ACCOUNTING AT LIVINGSTON OR 370 JAY STREET AND HOW MANY BOOKS ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?

WHERE IS ALL THIS MONEY?

Steven

I think it is a gross in-justice what is going on with the MTA. I believe there should be a level of transparency and accountability with all budget expenditures especially when the people are expected to pay more for less service.

Take for example the renaming of the Triborough to the RFK Bridge; from my understanding the MTA is spending $4 Million or more to rename the bridge. This is an expense that will not benefit anybody in any way except maybe for giving recognition to the Kennedy family for the fine service that Robert F Kennedy did for us 40 years ago.

I don’t have anything against recognizing RF Kennedy for his fine service; I just don’t believe we really need to pay for this now. It should have been done a long time ago. At this point in time if it really needs to be done the Kennedy family should pay for it. I am sure they have the money to do it and they are the ones who will reap the rewards in the future.

We are in the midst of an economic crisis the likes of which very few of us have ever seen before. The unemployment numbers are up to an unprecedented amount. Our mayor Bloomberg has gotten a law past to extend term limits supposedly so the current administration can better handle the crisis than a newly elected official. I don’t believe this is true. They are trying to cancel the property rebate checks before they are sent out. But yet they still have enough money to waste $4 million on renaming a bridge. In my opinion this is obscene.

Thanks for listening,
Pietro
Middle Village, Queens.

The MTA lands us strap hangers with this bomb shell today and that is a 23 percent increase in fares and tolls. The reason given was to plug a billion-dollar gap for next year. Now added to that there will be service cuts on trains and buses. My question again is what happen to the surplus? Maybe on luxury items for excutives. We are in the midst of a very bad recession, increase in unemployment, and a serious economic melt down. This is not the time to place an economic burden on the commuters. In my opinion the strap hangers are very tired of having their pockets picked. The poor and middle class are paying the price for the incompetence of the MTA'S excutives. That being said my suggestion is that the MTA excutives can save the commuters money by taken a big cut in pay for they are over payed, for not doing their job.

Frederick
Glen Oaks Village, N.Y.

This is a slap in the face to every commuter in New York City. Since this agency cannot manage itself and has not managed itself properly over the past decades, the public must now pay the price. This is the most poorly run agency in the State of New York; it is dysfunctional and mismanaged and they account to no one.

On Staten Island, we have been promised service increases for decades. The MTA has done little to increase public transportation services on the island. All the commuters are left with are crowded buses, when and if the bus comes, and increased fares, not increases in service. To raise fares on express buses by 50% is outrageous. Now the MTA wants to strand our senior population as well, but raising their fares at a time when people on fixed incomes can't make ends meet? Enough already with fare increases! Now is the time for the MTA to be reorganized, to make it a viable public entity, that is accountable to the people of this state.

I will be at the fare hike hearings!

Alex
Tottenville, Staten Island resident

John,

When in the world is our comptroller gonna step up to the plate and force this agency to open there books.They want jobs. How's about asking Lee Sander and the rest of the higher archy to trim there salaries and perks. Trust me there is plenty of fat to cut.The same way you can have the I.G. look into the action of these track workers how's about looking at the top.

Joe

I'll accept the fare increase and diminished service if we can affect the MTA Board's lives the same way. Let's charge them an extra 50 cents for milk and pour out half of it, charge them a dollar extra per gallon of gas and give a pint to someone else, and whenever they buy a shirt, we take an arm.

We're quickly coming to the point where fare-jumping will become a valid act of civil disobedience.

Jordan S
Flushing, NY

That the MTA’s budget problems come as a surprise to anyone and pass for news is a tribute to how poorly journalists have done their job over the last couple years. The only thing more absurd than the money-losing Daily News and the money-losing New York Post judging the MTA’s budget deficit is the cable company, NY1, judging the MTA’s service. Imagine if the cable company ran the MTA. "We will fix your train next Tuesday between 10AM and 2PM."

Jose Antonio, Brooklyn

[EDITOR'S NOTE: We think it's pretty funny this e-mailer insulted us, but then signed a fake name. His name is really Ed.]

If the MTA is so concerned about someone having to pay - why don't the heads of that agency cut their exorbitant salaries and give up their free passes? Why should the public have to bear the brunt for their mismangement? The service on the subways during the weekends is is disgraceful.

Raymond
NYC

The proposed fare hikes are outrageous, especially in view of the abominable state of the service and the entire subway system. The stations are filthy and falling apart. It is a third-world system. The MTA should focus on getting their employees to be more productive and do more maintenance. The MTA should also look at management salaries and should account for their finances.

Lucy

Hi I'm Shannon, University Heights

I won't do anything because there is nothing to do the public hearings are just a show of "democracy". Most of us can't afford the increases but it's a case where they can do what they want because they know that most of us don't have other alternatives. The MTA is the worst managed department in the world and has been for some time, they create "programs" and "upgrades" and "better services" that no one asks for or needs(and spend millions on them). The MTA is a criminal organization run by wealthy thugs the needs to be under investigation by the Attorney General

I will like to say that getting rid of several local and express bus routes especially the m10 and getting rid of weekend and overnight subway service and increasing fares is all not acceptable at all. I do not have many other ideas how I am going to get to college or work. Some subways and buses are getting close to having between Medium and higher riderships such as all of the crosstown buses in Manhattan, the Bx15, M7, M10, M15, x17 express bus, the A,C,D,E,F,G,L,1,2,3,4,5,6 and 7 trains and maybe others.

From Tariq of Harlem

The MTA is nothing but a big monopoly! We need another choice when it comes to public transportation. If we had other feasible options, lets see how fast they drop their prices!

I live in Brooklyn and travel throughout the city and the Bronx. I use all major buses and train routes, and the service sucks! The buses and trains are crowded, there are not enough seats, and most train, buses and stations are filthy. They want more money, but yet the service is deplorable!

I say that if they are running out of money, start at the top! Cut down on the salaries of the MTA CEO's, Directors and Management, cut down on free metrocards for family and friends!

The economy is affecting us all, and they want to raise the fare? Forget about it!

LadyTray

The thing that people don't understand about this MTA mess is the fact that they're in so much debt. They've got to pay interest on all that debt and it's VERY expensive. They're in the same mess many citizens, states and other cities are in. They've BORROWed way over their head!!!!!!! Who's to blame for this? Pataki? It's a legacy, people.

Tom
Chelsea, Manhattan

Other cities in the US are facing tough times. It just seems that NYC is the one city that openly rapes their citizens. How about re-instating the commuter tax? If those people who live outside of the city don't like it, let them work where they live.

Thanks,
John
Bronx, NY
(Hopefully won't be living in NYC much longer)

I don't understand, Why dont they just get rid of the shuttle train that goes to rockaway pk. im saying this because there is also a shuttle train that goes to rockaway park anyways. if you ask me i think thats a wate of time and money. And is it me but are we starting to see more dancing kids and homeless people on the train!!!

Chris from Far Rockaway

Didn't the MTA have a huge surplus a couple years ago? Where did all the money go? The service certainly didn't get better. $3.00 is ridiulous for dirty, grossly over-crowded and late or infrequent trains and busses!

Rhoat

having you two guys in the same room is just... wow
a POWERHOUSE of journalism
like Huntley and Brinkley
like Cronkite and Cosell

amazing

BRAVO !

Brannan

[EDITOR'S NOTE: We assume this is dripping with sarcasm.]

The caller eailer stated that by getting on the bus free hurts us, not the MTA, well as true as that is, the drivers has the right and duty to kick off passengers who dont pay the fare, but rarely, if anytimes do they do that. Many times, they let people on for free after hearing a concocted sob story, and when the busses are overcroweded, they allow passengers to enter through the back of the bus and get free rides. they cant use the excuse that they don't see the people because other riders tell them and they refuse to do anything about it, so now we gotta pay while freeloaders continue to act upon their own and we pay their fares

Daniel

Can the MTA be sued? For corruption, fraud, gross mismanagement, betrayal of public trust, and general incompetence? Every time they raise the fares it's to help with the budget and increase service. However service never gets better, the workers are rude and it seems like they have a job for life doing nothing.

I have an idea, get rid of the 1001 middle manages doing nothing at the Brooklyn headquarters. Better yet, privatize the system. I'd bet both my legs that Donald Trump would have a world class service running at a profit in 2 years instead of the current rat infested crumbling 3rd world system that we currently have.

John
Queens NY.