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For months, the MTA has been saying it will have no choice but to impose painful service cuts and a massive fare hike unless the state intercedes. And now, the legislature appears to be responding. On Tuesday, state legislative leaders reassured transit riders they will take action, and soon.

"At this point we're weighing all the facts, but we will do something on the MTA. Between now and next week, we're gonna make a final decision on the MTA," said Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith.

"One thing that is very clear, is the actions of the MTA board are unacceptable. We understand that we have to do something," said Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

Exactly what that "something" is remains to be seen. A group of MTA officials and board members spent the day in Albany meeting with lawmakers, urging them to adopt the recommendations of the Ravitch Commission, which include both a new payroll tax and new East River Bridge tolls -- both of which have the support of Governor David Paterson.

The governor on Tuesday released a statement that said, "The time to do this is now. I will speak with lawmakers who have any doubt about the critical nature of this issue. We must get a final agreement in place within the next week."

Final legislation could end up differing from the Ravitch plan, but there seems to be a consensus something must be done.

"The alternatives are not pleasant. We will have to cut service, we will have to raise fares by 30 percent if this doesn't pass or something like it," said MTA Chairman Dale Hemmerdinger.

On March 25, the MTA board will take a final vote on fare hikes. While there will almost certainly be some increase, how much fares will go up depends largely on what happens in Albany over the next four weeks.