By ARIELLA MONTI and ALEX COSTELLO
Facing a deficit of $1.2 billion, the MTA would increase Long Island Rail Road fares by about 26 percent, in addition to making service cuts and laying off workers, if New York state fails to provide the bailout the MTA is requesting.
"We all have to live with modest increases with all services, but this is a ridiculous jump," said Pete Myers, a Long Beach resident who takes the LIRR into Manhattan.
If the MTA plan is enacted, the cost for a monthly ticket from Long Beach to Penn Station and back would increase from $211 to $267. A daily peak ticket would jump from $9.75 to $12.25. And commuters who get off the train and onto a subway would see another large increase, with a 30-day subway pass climbing from $81 to $103. A single ride would increase by 50 cents.
Myers, who already rides his bicycle to the train station to save money, is now considering walking from Penn Station to his job at Lincoln Center instead of hopping on the subway. He said he would probably take the subway back to the station at night.
While Lido Beach resident Tom Scully has no problem with walking, the trip from Penn Station to his office on Chambers Street downtown is too far a hike for him to give up his subway rides. "I'm going to have to bite the bullet and cut back on extra expenses," Scully said.
He plans to spend less on eating out and entertainment. "The kids will have to wear their clothes a little longer," he laughed.
Kerry Ennis, a Long Beach attorney who works in Midtown, said that while she is thankful to have a job in these tough economic times, no one at her firm will be getting a raise, which will make the fare increase especially difficult. "We can't afford to live in the city," she said. "And we don't live that far [out] on Long Island - and we can't even afford to do that!"
Ennis said that as the weather warms, she'll brave the tourists in Time Square and walk to her office instead of taking the subway. "We really don't have a choice," she said
In addition to fare hikes, the MTA also plans to make cuts throughout its operations. It would delay or cancel maintenance of the restrooms and interiors of some cars, reduce spending on graffiti removal and station maintenance, pare the number of employees who offer travel information, and eliminate some LIRR routes. It plans to cancel one afternoon peak train on the Long Beach branch.
MTA buses would see a fare increase of $1.50, nearly doubling the cost of a trip, to $3.50.
Elizabeth Santiago, 23, of Long Beach, takes the bus from the barrier island to Nassau Community College to study education. She now spends $20 a week for her metro card, and said she'll have to deal with the increase. "There's nothing that I can really do about it," she said, adding that she would probably get some help from her parents. "I don't drive."
Rocco Passafuime is another Long Beach student who uses MTA buses to get to his business program in Albertson, as well as the LIRR into Manhattan, where he is a freelance journalist.
"It's really going to be tough," he said, adding that he already leads a pretty frugal life. "The MTA thing is making it more of an incentive for me to get a car."
As the Herald went to press, talks on a potential MTA bailout were beginning in the state Assembly, according to the office of Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg (D-Long Beach).
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