Just Say It — Say It! — “The Fare Will Go Up”

The MTA board is getting ready to vote on a giant subway fare hike (don’t listen to Governor Spitzer!):

The base fare may still be $2, but the 86 percent of subway and bus riders getting discounts will face higher costs under the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s revised fare proposal unveiled yesterday.

MTA chief Elliot Sander said the latest plan is the result of a “balancing act,” weighing concerns for low-income riders who rely on the cash fare against the need to provide discounts for regular customers.

The biggest hit goes to the 30-day unlimited MetroCard, which will climb five bucks to $81. Seven-day cards will go up to $25, but a new 14-day pass will cost $47, or a buck less than two current weekly passes.

The popular 20 percent bonus on pay-per-ride cards will be cut to 15 percent, but the buy-in will be $7 instead of $10. The average fare on the bonus cards will be $1.74, up from $1.67.

Meanwhile, the issue of who benefits most (ahem, tourists) from keeping the fare low gets murkier:

But some people can’t calculate savings into any fare increase. Many lower-income straphangers buy a weekly pass because that’s all they can cobble together at once, Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign said. Under the new hike proposal they’re getting the worst deal.

“Sometimes when I don’t even have the money for the weekly pass, I buy the $10 card,” said Melinda Joseph, a 22-year-old who studies and works at a midtown Dunkin’ Donuts. “Now I might get my boyfriend to drive me to school.”