NYC Straphangers Could Lose Last Bit Of Bonus On A Multi-Ride Metrocard

[marmar]

(New York, NY – WNYC) NY Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Joe Lhota wants to either take away or reduce the bonus money from subway and bus riders who use pay-per-ride Metrocards. Right now, riders get a 7 percent bonus when they put $10 or more on a Metrocard. Lhota says he’ll propose cutting the bonus as part of the transit agency’s effort to raise the $450 million needed to balance its budget next year.

“The stated fare price is $2.25 cents, and the average revenue we receive per rider is $1.63,” he said. “It shows the depth of our discount system that goes on, and I think we really need to have a discussion of, ‘Do we need a discount that deep?’”

Lhota says he’ll formally propose the change next month. If the NY MTA Board approves the plan, which would be subject to public hearings in November, the bonus could be gone by March. That’s also when fare and toll hikes of about 7 percent are scheduled to kick in.

For every $10 a rider adds to a Metrocard, the card comes out with $10.70, which brings down the cost of a subway or bus ride from $2.25 per trip to $2.10. ...................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://transportationnation.org/2012/09/12/nyc-straphangers-could-lose-last-bit-of-bonus-on-a-multi-ride-metrocard/