MTA Commuters on the Fare Increase: 'It is what it is'

Escalating rents and the rising cost of gas and food seem to have become the order of the day for New York City residents.

Now, with the latest subway fare increase of .25 cents for a one-way ride, which started today, most subway and bus commuters in Bed-Stuy seem to have grown jaded.

Bed-Stuy resident Miho Nozawa, 33, said she had heard about the fare increase, so she bought a monthly card on Friday before the monthly hike went into affect.

The first round of Metropolitan Transportation Authority hikes started on Friday, March 1, with price increases to cross bridges and tunnels and for tickets on MetroNorth and LIRR. Increases for Access-a-Ride arrived on Sunday, March 3.

And today, fare increases went into effect to ride subways and buses, from $2.25 to $2.50 for daily rides and from $104 to $112 for a 30-day card.

But Nozawa added, she said she wasn’t too upset, because she had future alternate plans: “Well I’m just planning to buy a bicycle, so I can use the MTA less.”

Percy Lloyd, 41, was waiting in a long line to purchase a new card and admitted he wasn’t even aware of a fare increase. Still, he didn’t seem fazed: “There’s nothing much we can do about it,” he said. “Every other year, it’s going to continue to go up. That’s just what they do. It is what it is… In another couple of years when it's higher, we’re going to wish it was the fare it is today.”

But the commuter waiting in line behind Lloyd disagreed: “Hell yeah, I’m upset. I care. I feel this is ridiculous. It’s too expensive,” said Kierra Hayes, 18. “Because $30 comes out of my paycheck every week, and now it’s going to be more.”

However, according to commuter Kristen Clark, 29, her employer also takes her subway fare directly out of her paycheck. And for that reason, she said the hike will feel less noticeable: “My company does TransitCheck; they take it out pre-tax dollars… so I don’t really see the change in it.”