Roll Back the Fares! Audit the Books! Elect a New MTA!

The Transit System Belongs to US!

Gov. Spitzer, with MTA officials at his side, recently announced that the base fare for the city’s transit riders would not be raised until at least 2009.

Problem solved, right? WRONG!

According to Spitzer and the MTA, only transit riders who purchase their rides at the base rate will not see their fares go up in early 2008. But such riders comprise only 15% of total ridership. The others purchase discounted cards:

• Pay-per-ride cards may reduce the six-rides-for-five discount;

• Unlimited weekly cards, now $24, may go up by $2, or $8 a month;

• Unlimited monthly cards, now $76, may be raised by as much as $5;

• Unlimited monthly cards, now $76, may be raised by as much as $5.

The people least able to afford it ¾ the working people of New York ¾ shoulder more than half the operating costs of a hideously mismanaged system: 55% of total revenues, as opposed to 29% in Boston. And now they’re planning partial fare hikes every two years!

Here is what The Green Party believes:

• The base fare should go down to $1.75;

• All bonus cards and LIRR fares should be lowered proportionately;

• A stock transfer tax and congestion pricing should be sources of revenue;

• The MTA’s books must be audited and subjected to full scrutiny;

• The MTA itself should be an elected board accountable to the people!

We will protest the MTA board’s fare hike meeting on Wednesday, December 19^th, 347 Madison Ave. (44^th Street) at 8:00 am.

The Green Party Says “No” to the Hike!