The New York Subway is in a chaotic situation, facing financial problems, operational and infrastructure that are affecting millions of daily users in the Big Apple.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), both the subway and the bus, announced a few weeks ago the increase in the price of their fares of just over 5%, which will be implemented next September, raising the cost of the Metro ticket from 2.75 to 2.90 dollars (from 47 to 50 Mexican pesos), however, this increase will not be enough to solve the financial problems faced by ‘Subway’.
The ferries, which connect the neighborhoods of Queens and Brooklyn with Manhattan, are the ones that have suffered the most from an increase in the price of their rates, costing the ticket from 2.75 to 4.00 dollars (from 47 to 69 Mexican pesos) each way. An increase in the prices of the Metrocard, the transport card to use the Metro and the bus in the Big Apple, is also expected.
The covid-19 pandemic has left a huge shortfall in MTA finances, drastically reducing the number of users of public transport. In addition, the MTA has become dysfunctional and chaotic, further aggravating the organization’s financial situation. In addition, they have been registering an increase in cases of violence within the system.
During the pandemic, many people in New York chose to use alternative modes of transportation, such as bicycles and skateboards. Additionally, work-from-home emptied much of the offices in Manhattan, further reducing demand for public transportation. Although the city begins to recover, the use of public transport is still lower than before the pandemic.
New York’s public transportation faces a recurring structural deficit of $2.5 billion, covered by federal aid through 2024. However, it is estimated that by 2025, this deficit could reach $3 billion.
Such have been the failures that the trains are being operated manually, which hinders the efficiency and punctuality of the service. Train drivers must report incidents through the megaphone and the circulation of trains is random, which causes stations to be skipped frequently.
In turn, the bus system in New York is considered the slowest in the United States, with an average speed of just eight miles per hour (approximately 13 kilometers per hour). In peripheral areas, such as some neighborhoods such as Queens, the frequency of buses is very low, reaching only one per hour.
Danny Pearlstein, a spokesman for the Riders Alliance, a carrier advocacy group, said a rate increase was inevitable, but urged Mayor Eric Adams to expand eligibility for the city’s fair rate program — meaning prices exist. preferential for lower-class New Yorkers.
“The commuters need our mayor to step in to help those least able to afford the walk,” Pearlstein said.
Subway has been in financial trouble since the 1970s, when New York City declared bankruptcy—and that crisis unleashed high crime rates—at that time it exacerbated the myriad of problems caused by the deteriorating infrastructure of the system.
To help prevent further decline, lawmakers moved in the 1980s to allow the authority to issue bonds, but the agency’s debt has skyrocketed since then and expenses have outpaced revenue. The authority board expects to hold public hearings on the proposal next month. and vote on it in July.
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