Surprising no one, the MTA has confirmed that it's going to push hard for 7.5% fare hikes in 2013, 2015, and 2017. "How sure is that? It's going to happen," MTA Chairman Joseph Lhota told NBC. Not so fast, Lhota—the righteous alliance between straphangers and station rats foretold in the Subway Scrolls may cast thy fare increase into peril.
What's cripplingly depressing about these increases is that they won't go towards making the stations better or the buses run faster, but straight into the ballooning maw of agency pensions and health care plans. And with Albany and the federal government shortchanging the agency, the MTA has to come up with creative methods of gaining revenue. "We're trying to look for every place that we possibly can where we have foot traffic, where we can actually have retail operations," Lhota said. Maybe sell more ads on subway cars? And who wouldn't carry around a bottle of Bushmills to ride for free?
But hey, at least they, uh, changed the lightbulbs on stations along Sixth and Seventh Avenues. "Not only did we change all the light bulbs to make them brighter—we also cleaned the backs of them," Lhota bragged. Woah! Sounds like someone stayed at a certain hotel chain last night.
So if changing/cleaning lightbulbs is a big deal, how about that train to La Guardia (AKA La CabFaria)? "We're continuing to look at it," Lhota said. "There are a lot of logistical problems—you can't have an elevated train in the path of landing, so you'd have to submerge it." Okay, fine. What about the countdown clocks that everyone was supposed to have by now? Riders who live on lettered lines should have them "within two years." Great! By 2014, a ride will be worth $2.25 $2.50.
