MTA budget nightmare averted

Relief for MTA riders

Subway and bus fares will likely stay under three dollars after the budget deal meeting. FOX 5 NY's Arthur Chi'en has the details.

NEW YORK - Subway and bus riders were facing significant fare hikes this year, but the budget deal reached in Albany seems to have solved a major problem at the MTA.

The state agency was looking at raising the cost per ride to over three dollars. But now it expects to keep it below that level.

Speaking on Good Day New York, MTA chairman and CEO Janno Lieber said seven-day passes will go up to least as a way to help working and middle-class New Yorkers, saying, "We’re probably going to increase them a little bit less on the weekly."

During the pandemic, a massive drop in ridership drove the MTA towards historic deficits approaching $2 billion a year. The Albany deal uses a payroll tax as a way to provide sustained funding for the MTA.

Transit advocates also hail the budget deal as a "big win," saying we went from possible service cuts to the MTA now being able to actually add service.

"We see this as a big victory." Danny Pearlstein of Transit Riders told FOX 5. "The MTA has well over $1 billion of continuous, reliable funding that it did not have just a week ago. And that’s huge."