MTA
MTA has released its July Financial Plan (above). It said it has narrowed the deficit by $198 million over the past year; that “robust” summer ridership on the subway and commuter railroads has resulted in higher fare revenue projections this year; and overall operating expenses are below the amount that had been budgeted. According to MTA, the July Financial Plan reaffirms its previously forecasted $500 million annual cost savings beginning in 2025.
“This July Financial Plan remains broadly in line with budget details announced in November and approved by the MTA Board in December,” MTA said July 30. “The July plan forecasts approximately $50 million less in deficits for Fiscal Year 2027 and 2028, totaling $98 million. This is in addition to the $100 million announced in November, totaling $198 million less in deficits than this time last year. The projected deficit for Fiscal Year 2029 is $428 million. These funding shortfalls are in large part due trip growth in Paratransit.”
MTA also said that it has proposed a series of fare and ticket policy changes for New York City Transit’s (NYCT) subways and buses, Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), and Metro-North Railroad. These changes are pursuant to the 2025 Budget approved by the MTA Board in December 2024. “Updates are designed to simplify the fare structure and allow customers to automatically receive the best possible value,” MTA reported. “They accompany modest proposed fare and toll rate increases that keep pace with inflation, as they have every other year since 2009.“
If approved by the MTA Board this fall, the changes would go into effect in January 2026.
As part of the proposed fare policy changes for NYCT subways and buses:
- The seven-day rolling fare cap, which allows customers to pay for 12 rides in a seven-day period and automatically ride free for the rest of the week with no pre-payment required, would become permanent. At the proposed base fare, no rider would pay more than $36 for subway and local bus rides in a week; reduced-fare customers would pay no more than $18 in a week. Fare capping would also be extended to the express bus network on a promotional basis. During this promotion, express bus riders would never pay more than $67 for unlimited express bus, local bus, and subway rides in any seven-day period. “With fare capping available to all subway, bus, and express bus customers, the 7-Day, 30-Day, and Express Bus Plus Unlimited Ride MetroCards will no longer offer substantial financial savings and will no longer be sold,” MTA reported. Riders will still be able to pre-load funds onto an OMNY card for unlimited travel using the fare cap. “Unlike with MetroCards, any unused funds will roll over,” said MTA, noting that more than 75% of subway and bus riders are already using their contactless debit/card, mobile wallet or OMNY card to pay their fare.
- Tap-and-go would be required for all subway, local bus, and express bus rides once MetroCards are no longer accepted as fare payment. Cash and coins would continue to be accepted at card vending machines in subway stations and at one of the 2,700 local businesses that sell OMNY cards, according to MTA. It said that “coin collection on local buses is inefficient and if it continues, would cost the agency $14 million annually to operate and maintain.” Eliminating coin collection, it noted, “would also allow teams to fully deploy proof-of-payment on buses and conduct thorough fare enforcement.”
- Under the fare rate proposed, the base fare for subways, local buses, the Staten Island Railway and Paratransit would rise 10 cents to $3.00. Express bus fares would rise to $7.25, from the current $7.00. The reduced-fare would remain at half-off the base fare, rising from $1.45 to $1.50. Single-ride tickets on subways and buses will increase to $3.50 from the current $3.25. The fee for a new OMNY card would increase to $2 when the MetroCard is no longer accepted for fare payment later in 2026, MTA said.
As part of the proposed fare policy changes for LIRR and Metro-North Railroad:
- A new promotional Day Pass for unlimited travel would replace the Round-Trip ticket. The Day Pass would be valid on the day of purchase until 4 a.m. the following day. On weekdays, the Day Pass would cost 10% less than two one-way peak tickets; on weekends, it would cost the same as two one-way off-peak tickets. Unlimited Day Passes are also available for CityTicket and Far Rockaway ticketholders, priced at $14.50 in the peak and $10.50 in the off-peak.
- A new promotional discount would be available for mobile customers. After 10 peak or off-peak trips in 14 days, mobile customers would get an 11th peak or off-peak one-way trip for free in the same zone combination in the same 14-day period. Unlike today’s 10-Trip, which would be eliminated, MTA said, this new fare product would not require customers to pre-pay for 10 tickets to receive a discount and introduces a new discount for 10-Trip peak customers. According to MTA, 71% of customers already purchase their tickets via the TrainTime mobile app.
- A promotional reduced fare product would be available all day, every day for seniors, people with disabilities, and Medicare recipients, even in the morning peak period.
- MTA is eliminating the need for LIRR and Metro-North riders to activate tickets after purchasing. All One-Way mobile tickets would auto-activate upon purchase, and the ticket would expire after four hours. Paper tickets would also expire four hours after purchase. Additionally, the surcharge for tickets purchased onboard, whether from a conductor or the TrainTime app, would increase by $2. Riders who repeatedly purchase mobile tickets onboard would be penalized after an escalating series of warnings, according to MTA.
- A proposed increase of up to 4.4% would apply to monthlies and weeklies. All other ticket types would increase up to 8%, with no fare increasing more than $2. To view the full LIRR proposed fare table click here. To view the full Metro-North fare table under the proposal, click here. Given a 10% discount applied to monthly tickets in 2022 and suspension of the fare increase in 2021, the current cost of a monthly ticket is about the same price of a monthly ticket in 2019 when adjusted for inflation, MTA said. Monthly ticket fares will not exceed $500.
- The Off-Peak CityTicket would go from $5 to $5.25 and the Peak CityTicket from $7 to $7.25 for LIRR and Metro-North. These proposals also apply to the Far Rockaway ticket. The Peak CityTicket and Far Rockaway ticket, which are currently promotional, would become permanent fare products.
- Base fares for Metro-North’s West-of-Hudson services, the Pascack Valley Line and Port Jervis Line would increase by 4.4%.
Increases are also proposed for all nine Bridges and Tunnels facilities for both E-ZPass and Tolls by Mail rates, according to MTA. For the RFK, Whitestone, Throgs Neck, Verrazzano Bridges and the Queens-Midtown, Hugh L. Carey Tunnels the proposed toll would go from $6.94 to $7.46. The Henry Hudson Bridge would go from $3.18 to $3.42 and Cross Bay and Marine Parkway Bridges would go from $2.60 to $2.80.
A series of hybrid public hearings will be held Aug.19-20. Additional opportunities for the public to comment in-person in September will be announced at a later date, according to MTA. After considering public comments, the MTA Board will vote on the proposed fare and toll changes.
Meanwhile, MTA has approved Jonathan Rose Companies’s development of 265 units of mixed-income housing at a parking lot adjacent to the Beacon Metro-North Station. The agency said the project will complement the City of Beacon’s efforts to foster greater connectivity between the waterfront, Beacon Station and Main Street. Residents will be able to access midtown Manhattan via Metro-North’s Hudson line in just 78 minutes, it noted.
Made possible through the Governor of New York’s Redevelopment of Underutilized Sites for Housing (RUSH) program, funding will support a structured parking garage to replace an existing Metro-North commuter parking area with new housing units, according to MTA.
Further Reading: MTA 2025–2029 Capital Plan Gets Greenlight
Denver RTD
Denver RTD on July 30 reported that its Board has authorized General Manager and CEO Debra A. Johnson to enter into a successor three-year collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1001 (ATU). (See below for the Board report authorizing the contract.)
Leadership teams from Denver RTD and ATU 1001, working with the assistance of a mediator, reached a tentative agreement for the successor CBA, which was subsequently ratified by ATU members and approved by the Board.
The agreement increases wages for ATU-represented employees, which comprise approximately two-thirds of the agency’s workforce, 16.3% over the term of the contract, starting with a 6.5% increase in the first year and 4.5% in each of the next two years. The hourly wage increases within the successor agreement are retroactive to Jan. 1, 2025. The successor CBA extends through Dec. 31, 2027.
The agreement includes a 6.5% increase for RTD’s bus and rail operators in the first year, raising the starting hourly wage from $25.96 to $27.65, with increases every six months. Other entry-level hourly wages include $34.85 for a general repair mechanic in Bus Operations, $41.08 for a signal/traction power maintainer in Light Rail Maintenance, $38.89 for an electromechanic in Light Rail Maintenance, $41.08 for a signal maintainer in Commuter Rail Maintenance, and $39.71 for a journeyman electrician in Facilities Maintenance. Additionally, the agreement will increase vacation accruals for tenured employees by lowering the number of years to reach designated time milestones.
“The collaboration demonstrated by the bargaining teams during negotiations amplifies a collective commitment to One RTD,” Johnson said. “This CBA ensures that employees within the ATU 1001 bargaining unit receive competitive, market-based wages.”
Earlier this year, Denver RTD promoted Brett Feddersen to Chief Information and Technology Officer and Timothy (Tim) Tyran as Director of Safety and Environmental Compliance and Chief Safety Officer.
