New York City Raises Prices on Subway, Bus Rides for First Time in Eight Years
Base fare rises to $2.90 as ridership hasn’t rebounded to prepandemic levels Subway ridership in New York City has yet to rebound to prepandemic levels. Photo: Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg News By Talal Ansari July 19, 2023 4:34 pm ET Subway and bus rides in New York City will increase to $2.90 a ride, the first increase in eight years. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s board voted unanimously Wednesday to raise the base fare from $2.75. The increase will begin on Aug. 20. The price of a 7-day unlimited ride pass will increase to $34 from $33, while the price of a 30-day unlimited ride pass will rise to $132 from $127. The price for people using discount programs won’t change. The MTA described the price hike as a regular fare increase that would “allow us to maintain
Subway ridership in New York City has yet to rebound to prepandemic levels.
Photo: Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg News
Subway and bus rides in New York City will increase to $2.90 a ride, the first increase in eight years.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s board voted unanimously Wednesday to raise the base fare from $2.75. The increase will begin on Aug. 20.
The price of a 7-day unlimited ride pass will increase to $34 from $33, while the price of a 30-day unlimited ride pass will rise to $132 from $127. The price for people using discount programs won’t change.
The MTA described the price hike as a regular fare increase that would “allow us to maintain current service levels and even increase service frequency.”
In the early days of March 2020, approximately 4.5 million people were riding the subway each day, according to MTA data, but the Covid-19 pandemic decimated commuter travel. Subway ridership has recovered to about 70% of that level, according to recent MTA data.
But hybrid and remote work, along with changing consumer patterns and concerns about crime, have kept ridership levels depressed, both in New York and in other major U.S. cities.
The MTA’s fare increase will go into effect on Aug. 20.
Photo: Ted Shaffrey/Associated Press
The third quarter of 2022 saw 883 million fewer public-transit trips across the U.S. than the same period in 2019, according to federal data gathered by the American Public Transportation Association.
“Due to the impact the pandemic had on ridership fare increases were temporarily put on hold in 2021,” the MTA said in a statement.
Traffic at MTA bridge and tunnel crossings are back at or have exceeded prepandemic levels, the agency said.
Danna Dennis, an organizer with Riders Alliance, called on New York City Mayor Eric Adams to use new funding for a reduced-fare ticket program to increase the number of New Yorkers eligible for cheaper rides.
“Riders are looking to our mayor to invest the new program funding as aggressively as possible to reduce the burden of higher fares on low-income New Yorkers barely making ends meet,” Dennis said.
Write to Talal Ansari at [email protected]
Corrections & Amplifications
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s board voted unanimously Wednesday to raise the base fare from $2.75. An earlier version of this article incorrectly said it voted Thursday. (Corrected on July 19).
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