Subway and Bus (MTA) Fare Increase in NYC

Hey everyone! I'm afraid I have some bad news. If you're a commuter or use public transportation regularly, this is going to be quite irritating. Subway and bus fares from MTA are going up this weekend.

To be honest, I think the prices were already high enough for something as essential as transportation. Especially if we have in mind the thousands and thousands that use the subway to get to work and barely make minimum wage. These are the new prices:

Base Fare – $2.50  Subway and Local Bus (Reduced-Fare $1.25) Express Bus – $6.00  (Reduced-Fare $3.00 off-peak only)	7-Day Unlimited – $30 7-Day Express Bus Plus – $55
	30-Day Unlimited – $112
Pay-Per-Ride Bonus An additional 5% is added to your MetroCard with the purchase or addition of $5 or more.	Single Ride ticket – $2.75 (No Reduced-Fare) Sold at vending machines only. Must be used within 2 hours; no transfers included.
Fee for purchase of a new MetroCard – $1  Fee applies to each new MetroCard purchased at station booth, vending machine or commuter rail station.

Source: MTA.info

The base fare goes $0.25 up for each ride and the popular 30 Day card goes up $8. However, one of the things that are irritating commuters the most is the new fee for purchasing a new MetroCard. If you want to get a new one instead of refilling, now you have to pay $1. Make sure you avoid this unnecessary fee by refilling your old card.

Another change is the bonus you get on your card. Up until now, every time I charged my MetroCard I was getting 7% extra. For example, I usually put about $20 a week, and the actual value added to my card was $21.40. Now instead of %7, they're only adding %5. I'll have $21.00 instead.

See it on the news:



There's not much we can do if we need to take the subway but pay the increase. However, now that the weather will start getting better here are some alternatives for the athletic ones:

• Get a bike if it's not an awful distance and you have place to leave it.
• Get on your skate rollers. Scooter perhaps?
• If it's up to about 15 blocks distance, you are better off walking. It usually takes about a minute per block. Calculate the time and it might be worth walking instead of paying $2.50 (or $5 two ways) for two or three subway stops.

I know these won't work for everyone, and many users will be pretty annoyed by this new fare. 

Hopefully the prices stabilize for a while! Let's stay positive and still thankful that the subway in this city is amazing enough to take you anywhere in relatively little time. Imagine if we didn't have it at all! Thanks for reading and see you soon!