Greetings Hamptons MouthPiece Readers..New York public transportation rates will increase effective MARCH 1ST 2013 on NYC Subways, Local Buses, Staten Island Railway, LIRR, Metro-North, Bridges, Tunnels and Express Buses. This increase was approved last year and how quickly time moves and the rising cost of living in the Great State of New York is staggering. It is becoming increasing expensive to live in New York. Gas is on the rise, averaging at $4.09 for regular and now the price increase to take public transportation. They are even talking about Gas going as high as $5.00 in NY…how insane is this?

Here are the New York Public transportation price increases:

New York City Subway, Local Buses and Staten Island Railway :

• Metrocard $2.50 for a single ride, $30 for a 7-day and $112 for a 30-day unlimited. LIRR &  MetroNorth increase 8.19% to 9.31%, brides & tunnels
• 30-day unlimited-ride MetroCard will cost $112, up from the current $104. The seven-day unlimited-ride MetroCard will cost $30, up from the current $29.
• The base fare will increase to $2.50, from the current $2.25. But the threshold for receiving a bonus discount will be lowered to $5, from the current $10.
•  discount is being reduced from the current 7% to 5%, or 25? for every $5 put onto the card. The effective cost of a single trip for users of the bonus discount pay-per-ride MetroCard will be $2.38.

To encourage customers to keep and re-load their MetroCards, the MTA will institute a $1 surcharge to purchase a new MetroCard at a subway station. There will be no charge to refill an existing MetroCard, or to transfer a balance from an expired MetroCard onto a new one, and customers will be able to purchase pay-per-ride value and unlimited ride passes on the same MetroCard. There will be no surcharge to purchase a MetroCard from any of the hundreds of merchants who sell them outside of the transit system, or to add a MetroCard to the rear of a railroad ticket. In addition, reduced fare customers (seniors and customers with disabilities), users of EasyPayXpress cards and transit benefit organization customers who get their MetroCards directly from employers or their benefit providers will be exempt from the charge.

Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad

Railroad ticket prices will continue to vary based on the distance traveled, time of day traveling (off peak or peak) and the type of ticket purchased (monthly, weekly, 10-trip, or one-way). On average, most tickets will increase by 8.19% to 9.31%, although depending on ticket type and zone, percentage increases may vary.

The discounted City Ticket, good for weekend transportation on the LIRR between Manhattan and Queens or between Brooklyn and Queens, or on Metro-North for weekend transportation between Manhattan and the Bronx, will increase to $4.00 from $3.75.

The LIRR will establish discounts for military personnel on active duty and will extend to the evening peak period the Family Fare discount for children traveling with parents or guardians, matching Metro-North’s fare policies.

MTA Bridges and Tunnels

MTA crossings will rise to $5.33 for E-ZPass users, up from the current $4.80,

$7.50 (up from the current $6.50) using anything other than an E-ZPass

These new rates will apply at the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge, Queens Midtown Tunnel, Throgs Neck Bridge, Bronx-Whitestone Bridge and Hugh L. Carey Tunnel (formerly the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel)

•  Verrazano-Narrows Bridge will be reduced for Staten Island residents out of recognition of geographic disadvantages that were given voice during the public review process. Staten Island residents with a valid resident E-ZPass plan who make one or two westbound trips per month per account will be charged $6.36 per trip. Those who make three or more trips per month will be charged $6.00 a trip. (The extra 36? per trip will be charged on the first two trips if three or more trips are not made by the end of the month.) The nonresident toll charged on the bridge will continue to match the round-trip tolls on the five crossings mentioned above. It will be $10.66 for NYCSC E-ZPass users, and $15 for cash users. The toll is collected in one direction only, westbound toward Staten Island.
•  Henry Hudson Bridge will increase to $2.44 for NYSC E-ZPass users, up from the current $2.20. For others, the toll will increase to $5, up from the current $4.
• Cross Bay Bridge and the Marine Parkway-Gill Hodges Memorial Bridge will rise to $2.00 for NYSC E-ZPass users, up from $1.80, and $3.75 for cash users, up from $3.25. Residents of the Rockaway Peninsula and Broad Channel will continue to receive toll rebates and discounts when using a valid resident E-ZPass. The toll for residents on these bridges will rise to $1.31, up from $1.19. The residents’ toll will continue to be fully rebated for crossings of the Cross Bay Bridge, under a program made possible by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the State Legislature.

How can you save…Buy an E-ZPass if you are driving everyday. Purchase monthly passes if you are using public transportation. For those of us using these services periodically be ready for the increase.

For more information on an insight into the reasons for the fare and toll increase..click here: http://osc.state.ny.us/audits/allaudits/093013/09s102.htm

As Always Hamptons MouthPiece keeping you in the know!