Transit union comes out against MTA fare hike

Volume 2, Number 10 | The Weekly Newspaper of Chelsea | December 14 - 20, 2007

"Support businesses and organizations that support Chelsea Now"

By Jefferson Siegel

On Monday morning, as Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Governor Elliot Spitzer and a host of officials unveiled a sign in the Times Sq. subway station to mark the beginning of work on the No. 7 train, union officials spoke out against part of the plan at City Hall.

The No. 7 line plan the mayor and governor christened includes extending it one stop west to 11th Ave. and 34th St. at the Javits Convention Center. There are no plans to build a previously announced station, or shell of a station, at 10th Ave. and 41st St., a burgeoning neighborhood lined with high-rise apartment buildings.

Shortly after the ceremony, on the steps of City Hall, Transit Workers Union Local 100 President Roger Toussaint and others held a press conference urging the city to stop a proposed MTA fare hike and build the additional station.

“If we are going to do this at a fare that working people can afford,” Toussaint said, “both city and state governments need to step up to provide the MTA the funding it needs.

Although Governor Spitzer recently announced a freeze on any increase on the $2 full fare, only about 14 percent of riders pay full fare. The other 86 percent pay some form of discount using multiple-ride Metrocards. This majority of riders will see some form of fare increase if the MTA votes for an increase on Dec. 19.

The union officials at City Hall passed out copies of a letter they had sent to the governor, signed by 51 state legislators, asking for a commitment that the Jan. 15 state budget will contain funds to save the fare, urging Spitzer to ask the MTA to hold off on their mid-December vote, and requesting a meeting with the governor.

“Governor Spitzer has declared that the state will increase its subsidy. Speaker Silver has committed the state assembly to do the same,” Toussaint continued. “This leaves one other voice to be heard from. Mayor Bloomberg needs to speak up.

“Today the mayor had a groundbreaking ceremony for the No. 7 extension. This extension was the city’s brainchild. But at 10th Avenue, there will be a hole where there should be a station. Why? Because the city has not committed enough to fund the project and has made no committment to cover the inevitable cost overrun. You can build a world-class transit system, or you can nickel-and-dime it to death. You can’t do both.”

NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign attorney Gene Russianoff added that only about 4 percent of the budget earmarked for the bus and subway system—$5.7 billion—comes from the City of New York. “That’s simply not a fair share, and it’s not enough to get us the attractive fares and decent service that New Yorkers deserve.”

Because of the city’s contribution, Russianoff said, “we have one of the highest farebox burdens in the nation.Riders here pay about 55 percent of the costs of operating the subways and buses. The national average is 37 percent. We’re way over because the city, along with the state, is not making its fair contributions.”

The Straphangers Campaign planned another protest against the proposed fare hike for Thursday, at 43rd Street between Seventh Avenue and Broadway.