The MTA is considering letting passengers pay more to help contribute to making its operations more eco-friendly. This is how the NY Times puts it, "The authority said on Thursday that it was considering a 'green MetroCard' program that would let riders make donations to help pay for making its operations more environmentally sustainable. The program would also apply to commuter rail tickets and E-ZPasses." And here's the Post's take, "The MTA now wants to ask straphangers to fork over extra cash when they buy a MetroCard to help fund the agency's pet 'green' projects."

Right: Aside from that severe fare hike it's proposing, the MTA may be willing to bank on the kindness of its ridership—especially its eco-conscious riders—to help out with projects like, according to the Post, "making subway cars lighter, expanding the number of dedicated bus lanes, reusing electric power and other environmental programs." These donations would be tax-deductible.

MTA policy director Ernest Tollerson said, during a hearing in Washington, "We’re working on a model that says that you might add an increment to the price of a MetroCard, a Long Island Rail Road ticket, to a Metro-North ticket and also to the crossings for bridges and tunnels, on a voluntary basis." MTA CEO and executive director Elliot Sander said, "If people want to be supportive of reducing carbon, this is an opportunity for them to do that." And Tollerson added this is just an idea at this point—there's no timetable or anything for it to actually happen.

The MTA also presented other sustainability goals in D.C., such as having 80% of the MTA's energy drawn from renewable sources by 2050. The Times called the out-of-town press conference "unusual"; the MTA said it was because the issues were of national significance... plus the MTA wants federal funding (the MTA says it doesn't expect the money to come solely from customers... hello, President-elect!). Fun fact: NY1 noted how MTA Sustainability Commission Chair Jonathan Rose mentioned, "We pump between eight and 13 million gallons a day of water out of the subway system, groundwater, and just dump it into the New York City sewer system. So can we can find beneficial reuse for that water?"