If you were planning to commute to campus by subway next semester, you might want to reconsider.
The MTA approved new fare hikes last Thursday that will raise the price of a monthly MetroCard almost 17 percent from $89 to $104, and will raise the price of a weekly card almost 7 percent from $27 to $29, beginning Dec. 30.
The $2.25 pay-per-ride fare on MetroCards will remain the same, except for single-ride tickets, whose prices will rise to $2.50.
The change will also reduce the pay-per-ride bonus, from 15 percent per $8 to 7 percent for every $10, and add a $1 surcharge for acquiring a new MetroCard.
This will be the third time New Yorkers have been faced with an increase in MetroCard prices since 2008.
According to the MTA, its goal is to increase revenues by 7.5 percent while keeping ridership at its existing levels.
"It is part of the measures to fix a $900 million dollar budget gap," MTA spokesperson Kevin Ortiz said.
Ortiz also said the MTA concentrated the price hikes on montly MetroCards because it "wanted to limit the effect of fare increases on our low-income customers."
"Those that typically purchase the monthly Metrocard tend to have a higher median income," Ortiz said.
But others, such as New York City Transit Riders Council board member Andrew Albert, objected to the steep increase in the monthly fare.
"We should be rewarding our best customers," he said.
Stern freshman Kimberly Konnoth agreed. "I don't understand why they are punishing their most loyal customers like this," she said.
Many commuter also students said they disliked the fare hikes.
"I think it's crazy that they're increasing the prices yet again," said Stern freshman Shivpal Rana, who commutes to NYU from Queens. "It's going to be an extra $15 out of my pocket since there is really no other way for me to get into [Manhattan]. Like many other customers, I'm dependent on the MTA."
"The thing that shocks me is that they basically have a monopoly on public transportation in New York City, which is a tremendous revenue base, yet they are still going into a deficit," Rana added.
CAS senior Nikhil Bhasin, who lives in east Midtown, said he would not mind the price hikes if he felt the money was being used for more practical things, like additional train schedule boards and video surveillance on platforms.
"If the fare hikes made my trip more efficient, I would be all for it," he said. "It still hurts my wallet and it means I will have to cut back elsewhere."
Jason Chin-Fatt from the Straphangers Campaign, which deals with the rights of the city's public transit users, said the MTA shouldn't be held entirely responsible for the hikes.
"It is easy for the transit rider to blame the MTA for the fare increases, but in this case the riders should be angry with the state government and the elected officials that aren't doing their part to make sure that our transit system is fully funded," Chin-Fatt said.
MTA railroad tickets on the Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road are also expected to face a fare hike of 7 to 14 percent.
