NYC subway, bus fare hikes could be bigger if Hochul state budget plan falls through, MTA officials say

New Yorkers should brace for soaring fares — and less frequent service — if Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed transit budget gets voted down, MTA officials warned Thursday.

Straphangers were advised last year to brace for a 5.5% increase in mid-2023, which would send the price of a subway ride to $2.90.

But the fare could soar higher and service might be cut if Hochul’s proposed budget doesn’t pass the state’s legislature, MTA chairman Janno Lieber said.

“If we don’t get out of Albany what we need, very quickly we have to start moving on the fronts we don’t want to,” Lieber told reporters. “Major fare hikes, major service cuts, and layoffs.”

Hochul’s budget proposal seeks to fill a $1.2 billion hole in the MTA’s funding with an $800 million increase in the payroll mobility tax and a nearly $500 million increase in contributions from New York City.

Both proposals have met resistance. Mayor Adams claims the city can’t afford to kick in money for subways and buses, and some suburban legislators are pushing back against the payroll tax increase, saying it should not apply outside the five boroughs.

“We do continue to work on our contingency plans — layoffs, higher fare increases and service cuts — if [Hochul’s] proposal is not enacted into law,” said Kevin Willens, the MTA’s chief financial officer.

“Make no mistake about it — the governor’s proposal is great news for MTA,” Willens told the MTA board Thursday. “That said, our financial future remains uncertain for another 40 days until it is adopted.”

New York’s Constitution requires the approval of a state budget by April 1.

The MTA’s current financial plan assumes the budget will pass, and assumes a 5.5% increase on subway and bus fares as well as bridge and tunnel tolls, according to Willens.

He said the agency should net $360 million after one year of increased fares.

The 5.5% increase is already 1.5% above the MTA’s typical schedule of a 4% increase every two years.

The base subway and bus fare of $2.75 has not changed since 2015. The MTA’s last general fare hike in April 2019 kept the fare at $2.75 fare by ending a 5% bonus for putting multiple rides on a MetroCard,.

A consortium of progressive legislators have come out against any fare hike, calling on Albany to fully fund the MTA.

Democratic Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani (D-Queens) and his state Senate colleague Michael Gianaris (D-Queens) have put forth a bill that would freeze subway fares, in addition to requiring increased service and free buses.

Riders Alliance spokesman Danny Pearlstein said Thursday that his organization also opposes any increase in fares.

“We know that ridership now skews working class because of work from home,” Pearlstein said. As a result, he said, “a fare hike would be particularly inequitable this year.”