NYC Subway, Bus Services Have Entered 'Death Spiral,' Experts Say

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: Officials at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) warned last week that without a major infusion of cash, [New York City's subway and bus services] will have to drastically cut service or increase fares on the system that carries millions of New Yorkers around the city. The system's financial straits have gotten worse in part because it has fewer riders, and is collecting less money in fares. Expected passenger revenue over a five-year period has dropped by $485 million since July.

'They've entered this death spiral,' said Benjamin Kabak, who runs the transit website Second Avenue Sagas. 'The subway service and the bus service has become unreliable enough for people to stop using it. If people aren't using it, there's less money, and they have to keep raising fares without delivering better service.' The authority is proposing a fare hike that would take effect in March. One option would raise the basic fare for a ride to $3 from the current $2.75. Another option would leave the base fare the same but increase the cost of monthly passes and eliminate bonuses for riders. They are also proposing $41 million a year in service cuts, mainly increasing the time between trains and buses on some routes. And, if approved, the plan would delay the launch of faster bus routes. The proposed cuts 'will still leave the MTA with massive deficits, expected to hit nearly $1 billion a year by 2022,' the report says. 'To tackle those deficits, officials say they would have to cut service more drastically, or raise fares by an additional 15%.'

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