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Gov Hochul–NYers Won’t Face Bus & Subway Fare Hikes or Service Cuts

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AP- Edited by TJV News

New Yorkers won’t face higher fares or service cuts on buses and subways for the time being.

Gov. Kathy Hochul and acting Metropolitan Transportation Authority CEO Janno Lieber said Monday the goal is to induce more people to come back to public transit.

Lieber told 1010 WINS radio that there are no fare hikes in the MTA’s 2022 budget.

Hochul said fare increases and service cuts would be unnecessary thanks to the passage of the infrastructure bill in Washington.

“I’m really excited to say that we will not have to raise the fares or have any service cuts,” Hochul said as she prepared to fly to Washington for the infrastructure bill signing. “The service cuts that were planned for 2023 and 2024 are now off the table for MTA commuters.”

The MTA had already postponed scheduled fare hikes that were to be implemented at the beginning of this year.

The MTA’s revenues have plummeted as ridership on buses, subways and regional rail lines fell by more than 90 percent last year and are hovering at between 50 percent and 65 percent of normal. A return to those pre-pandemic levels isn’t expected for a few more years.

The MTA previously said fare hikes, service cuts and layoffs were likely unless federal coronavirus relief aid came from Washington. Under an agreement reached last week with New Jersey and Connecticut, the MTA will get about $11 billion in aid.

According to the governor, $14 billion would go to roads, $10.5 billion for transit projects, $3 billion toward clean water and $100 million for expanding broadband in the state.

Millions more would go toward climate resiliency projects, she said.

News 12 spoke to commuters who welcomed Hochul’s MTA announcement.

“I think that’s amazing, especially for college students like me who commute every single day,” said Ansa Zubair, of Hicksville.

Anthony Jenco, of Glen Cove, gave the thumbs up to improving roads after relaying some bad experiences with blown tires.

“I had to have the car balanced a few times,” he said. “Some of the roads are in pretty rough shape.”

It’s unclear the exact impact the bill will have on Long Island’s economy, but Matt Cohen from the Long Island Association, Inc. says the bipartisanship in Congress can only help.

“This transcended partisan politics and now we have something special,” he said. “That is really going be a game-changer for our region and the entire country.”

The package, which includes $550 billion in new spending, is meant to repair and enhance the country’s crumbling infrastructure. About $650 billion of the funding will be reallocated from already existing projects and funds.

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