Passengers board a Metro-North Hudson Line train at the Beacon station
recently
NEW YORK – Any possible fare increase on the Metro-North Railroad
and the other transportation systems operated by the New York City Metropolitan
Transportation Authority won’t be known until the board votes on
them early next year.
The board did, however, approve the $16.7 billion agency budget for 2019
on Wednesday.
While all but two members voted for the spending plan – the other
two abstained – many weighed in on the financial condition of the
MTA.
“We can’t go on like this. We need a massive restructuring
of the MTA,” said Board Member Andrew Saul. He suggested among other
belt tightening measures consideration of merging Metro-North with its
sister line, the Long Island Rail Road.
After the meeting, Board Chairman Fernando Ferrer said don’t hold
your breath for a possible merger of those two lines.
“Things like merging two railroads completely is easier said than
done and that’s not done in two weeks and to suggest anything approximating
that really is misleading,” he said. “But, we are looking
at all these opportunities and if we can’t have actual mergers,
have merging of functions.”
Governor Cuomo and New York City Mayor deBlasio have stated their opposition
to a fare and toll hike, but Ferrer said the MTA will have to close a
budget gap going forward and the board will look at the increases early
next year.
