This Sunday, the fare for weekly and monthly MetroCards will go up respectively to $32 (from $31) and $121 (from $116.50). There will also be a variety of other cuts impacting the “round trip bonus” which is that thing the MTA pretends is a seductive incentive to put more money on a MetroCard but is really more confusing than it is beneficial and leaves you with an awkward amount of money on your card, as well as the 7-day express bus plus card.
It’s a sad sign of the times, even if the MTA has been so kind as to leave the $2.75 individual price on MetroCards alone. I mean, it’s not like we’re paying for a better quality commute (although the Wi-Fi is nice, and shockingly isn’t rampantly abused by people with no sense of etiquette carrying on long phone conversations while in train, at least not much more than before).
It’s unclear how Sunday’s fare hike will or will not impact and reflect the price of pizza, as per the pizza principle, a longstanding economic law that has been historically accurate in equating the price of a slice of pizza to the cost of a subway ride.
So, to take a large stride away from America’s current economic state, where judging by the theme of things the A C E lines will probably be cut soon in the name of increased military spending (joking but not really), let’s take a moment to fantasize: the MTA wants our opinions, they want to understand how to make their service better. I hope I speak for my fellow New Yorkers when I say the number one priority is to make the train’s actually run on time, no more waiting on the G train for 45 minutes at rush hour on a weekday. Now that the antique labyrinth beneath our feet is efficient, what luxury amenity would we prefer? Thank you for asking MTA. Vote below (you only get one vote, so use it wisely):
[polldaddy poll=9698569]
Did we forget to include your utopian subway amenity? Let us know in the comments.
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Instead of an arbitrary across the board hike, how about a tiered metro system based on areas or a system based on distances traveled like in other subway systems around the world? Maybe there should be a significant expansion of advertisement space and also in real estate space for more vendors in larger stations? What about better designed line markings on subway platforms and in train cars to direct foot traffic and improve efficiency? What about banning food on trains? There are such an infinite number of ways the subway can be improved it’s mindboggling what to begin with!!!
A tiered system a la DC ends up punishing riders further out (i.e. those who are a few gentrification steps away from being forced out of the city altogether). Unless it’s more a reverse-zoned system where the rides within the urban core itself are more expensive. The fact that you can get from the Rockaways to Fulton Street (for example) for the same $2.75 as a three-stop ride on the 1 train in Manhattan is one of the things that makes NYC’s system a great equalizer.
Actually the winning choice is very adequate one. The schedule is a really important thing and I think MTA should be able to comply at least to it. I suppose is not so easy, but it is a high prio one…