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The 7.5 percent fare hike in January is as certain as things get for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority these days. Next week, board members -- some of whom tell NY1 they're frustrated they haven't been briefed yet -- will learn how the hike is proposed to be spread around. Straphangers will also hear what they may have to fork over when they pay by the ride or by the month.

"Last month, we had the deepest service cuts in a generation and now we're being asked to pay more as riders for our subways and buses. It's just not fair. It's not mass transit if the masses can't afford it," said Paul Steely White of Transportation Alternatives.

One idea would raise the monthly MetroCard from $89 to $100 and limit the number of rides. Another would force riders to pay an extra buck for cards when they don’t refill old ones.

"A new MetroCard, it’s not quite a dollar, but there is a cost there. There’s a cost in cleaning up when people just sort of toss the MetroCards on the floor after they're done with them. So we hate to see any increase in cost, but that‘s one that at least has a rationale behind it," said William Henderson of the MTA Citizens Advisory Committee.

Advocates and the transit union say workers and riders get hit too hard because Albany has shortchanged transit. They promise to turn out in force for the board meeting and pressure lawmakers to resurrect some proposals they've already rejected.

"We need drivers to pay their fair share. Right now there’s too many free riders, on our East River bridges in particular, and by instituting some form of congestion pricing we can prevent this fare hike," White said.

The $2.25 single-ride fare could be preserved even if other fares go up. But riders say any increase at this time is tough to take.

"I value the unlimited fare card, because you feel like you get a little bang for your buck in New York. It costs a lot of money to live in the city anyway, so to put a limit on an unlimited card seems to really tax your average New Yorker," said one straphanger.

"As somebody who has only lived in New York a couple of years and already paying more than I did when I first got here, it’s kind of crazy that the price keeps going up," said another.

Besides setting up hearings on the fare plan, the MTA board is expected to okay closing dozens of subway booths -- marking the end of the line for more than 200 workers.