Lavielle: MTA Fare Hike Needs Monitoring

Wilton’s State Rep. Gail Lavielle (R-143) is proposing a bill to keep the money earned from will be used solely for rail service, according to a press release sent by Gail Lavielle’s office.

Beginning Jan. 1 next year, one-way peak fare from and to Manhattan will increase from $13.50 to $14.25; the monthly pass will increase from $292 to $308, the release states.

“'The proposal for the newest increases was first introduced by the executive branch last summer, not as a necessity for operating mass transit, but as a way to help balance the state budget in case the unions voted down a concession package,'” said Lavielle in the press release. She will introduce the bill next year.

“'The unions accepted the package, and we were told the budget was balanced, yet the new fare increases, although slightly reduced, were maintained. Now there is nothing to stop the state from reducing its own contribution to Metro-North’s budget by the amount collected from the fare increases, and using the money to fill other budget gaps,'” Lavielle is quoted as saying in the release.

“'If they’re going to have to pay more, the very least they should expect is that the revenues from their fare increases be allocated to operating, maintaining, or improving the rail service they use. This bill would ensure that any extra money that comes into the Department of Transportations’ (DOT) New Haven Line budget through fare increases stays in that budget.'”

Over the next three years, starting Jan. 1 2012, rail and bus fares will increase by four-percent. However, “for New Haven Line commuters, the new increases come in addition to already scheduled increases of 1.25% on January 1, 2012, and 1% on January 1 of each year from 2013 to 2018, designed to help ,” the release states.