Fares to go up on NYC mass transit

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NEW YORK, Dec. 19 (UPI) -- Getting around New York will soon cost more, with the Metropolitan Transit Authority voting Wednesday to hike bus and subway fares.

The agency also increased tolls on the Queens-Midtown Tunnel and the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge, usually called the Triborough, which connects Manhattan, Queens and The Bronx, and fares on Metro-North trains to Westchester County and Connecticut and the Long Island Railroad, The New York Times reported. The vote for the increases was unanimous.

The increases take effect in March. Officials say they will bring in $435 million in new revenue.

The M.T.A. held public hearings during the fall to get public reaction to various possible fare increases. Suggestions included keeping the basic fare unchanged at $2.25 per ride, while making monthly passes more expensive and possibly eliminating the bonuses given those who purchase multi-ride MetroCards costing at least $10.

In the end, the agency decided to increase the single fare to $2.50, seven-day passes by $1 to $30 and 30-day cards by $8 to $112. In 2010, prices for weekly and monthly passes increased far more steeply.

M.T.A. Chairman Joseph Lhota urged board members to approve the increases in a letter last week.

"At the public hearings, customers asked us to minimize increases to the passes and maintain some level of bonus," he said. "They did not want to see another double-digit percentage increase in the 30-day pass."