Fare hikes of 4.5% coming to Metro-North next month, and MTA tolls will rise too
The cost of monthly and weekly tickets on Metro-North will increase up to 4.5% next month, the first fare increase on the commuter rail in four years.
Other tickets will increase as much as 10%.
The fare hikes renew the every-other-year increase plan the Metropolitan Transportation Authority had been following since 2009 but suspended during the pandemic when ridership on subways, buses and commuter rails plummeted.
Monthly tickets for stations furthest from Manhattan will be capped at $500 while riders west of the Hudson on the Pascack Valley and Port Jervis lines won’t see an increase.
When will the new fares kick in?
Fares will go into effect Aug. 20, tolls on Aug. 6.
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Will there be discounts?
Metro-North and its sister commuter rail, the Long Island Rail Road, will continue the 10% monthly ticket discounts that debuted last year.
The railroads will expand the use of its CityTicket for peak trains at a $7 fare, $5 for off-peak trains.
How much will MTA fares jump in real dollars?
A monthly ticket to travel to Grand Central Terminal from Harlem-125th Street will increase from $167.50 to $172.75. The same ticket from Poughkeepsie will jump $20 from the current $469.
For a full listing of monthly and weekly ticket increases, go to new.mta.info.
What about subway and bus fares?
The base fare for subways, buses, the Staten Island Railway and Paratransit will increase 15 cents to $2.90, the first such increase in eight years.
Seven-day unlimited ride MetroCards will increase to $34 from the current $33 and 30-day unlimited Metro-Cards will jump to $132 from the current $127.
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How about tolls on MTA bridges and tunnels?
Toll rates will vary depending on vehicle type and crossing.
E-ZPass automobile users will see a 39-cent increase to $6.94 for trips on the Bronx-Whitestone, Robert F. Kennedy, Throgs Neck, and Verrazzano-Narrows bridges and Hugh L. Carey and Queens Midtown tunnels.
Tolls by Mail users will pay $11.19 per trip, up from $10.17.
What about off-peak travel?
Discounts for traveling during off-peak hours will increase to 26%, up from the current 25%.
How much revenue will this mean for the cash-strapped MTA?
About $117 million for 2023.
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This is it, right? No more fare hikes?
Nope. The MTA’s five-year plan anticipates 4% increases in 2025 and 2027.
Fare and toll hikes might have been higher without $65 million in state funding approved by Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state legislature earlier this year, MTA officials say.
Has ridership returned?
Average weekday ridership on Metro-North remains about 70% of pre-pandemic levels. June ridership was 18% higher than it was in June 2022, but 71.6% of June 2019 totals.
This article originally appeared on New York State Team: Metro-North fare hikes of 4.5% coming in August 2023
