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MTA raises fares, tolls; commuters frustrated

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The Metropolitan Transportation Authority approved a 4 percent increase of fares and tolls last week, leaving many residents frustrated over the increased cost of getting to work.

Under the new prices, which take effect on March 22, LIRR and Metro-North Railroad users will see a fare increase of just over 4 percent. Commuters on the Great Neck line will pay $252 for a monthly ticket, ten dollars more than they previously paid, while Hicksville riders will pay $287, $11 more than they do now, and Ronkonkoma users will see a $14 dollar increase, bringing their monthly pass to $377. A basic MetroCard will cost $2.75, up from $2.50. The cost of a 30-day MetroCard would rise to $116.50 from its old price of $112, and a seven-day metro cost would cost $57.25, up from $55.

It will also cost more to travel via car, as the tolls for the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge, Throgs Neck Bridge, Bronx-Whitestone Bridge, the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel and the Queens Midtown tunnel were raised from $7.50 to $8.50 for non E-Z Pass users. Use of the Verezano-Narrows Bridge will cost $16, a dollar more than its previous level, and the Henry Hudson Bridge will have a toll of $5.50, up from $5.

MTA officials said that the fare hike was unavoidable, and was in fact a smaller rise than may have been necessary if not for their “aggressive” spending cuts.

“The MTA has been able to limit these fare and toll increases to the equivalent of a 2 percent a year thanks to our continued aggressive cost-cutting, while still adding service and improving service quality for our growing number of customers,” said MTA Chairman and CEO Thomas F. Prendergast, who cited the over $1.1 billion cut from annual spending by the MTA, and the plan to raise those cuts to $1.8 billion by 2018.

“Our financial plan assumes modest biennial fare and toll increase, and the Board has chosen options with lower increases for our most frequent customers.”

Commuters, however, remained frustrated by the rising costs and unimpressed by the cuts. Many said they would be exploring other options to get to work.

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