In July 2016 the MTA raised a proposal about a fair hike in 2017 and most riders are not too happy about it. The aim is to raise more than $300 million annually. According to the plan, $270 million will go to improve service and customer experience over the next few years, by renovating 31 stations, equipping all stations and buses with Wi-Fi and adding more cars to some LIRR trains to meet ridership demands. The MTA is also implementing cost-cutting measures which are not yet mentioned.   

The agency had $36 billion of debt as of July 3, according to the MTA’s website. Principal and interest payments are projected to take up 19% of the operating budget by 2019, up from 16% now.  

For subway riders, perhaps the most important improvement included in the capital plan is the installation of communications-based train control systems on several subway lines, which will effectively digitize the trains. That means they’ll be able to run much closer together and more efficiently, rather than stopping and waiting for other trains to pass ahead of them. 

The MTA would have to hold public hearings before moving forward with the hike but if successful, the fare for subway and bus rides would rise from $2.75 to $3.00 in 2017 and from there another two percent in 2019. Metro-North fares would be increased anywhere from 2.2 percent to over 6 percent, varying by stations. 

This story would be interesting to New Yorkers since the MTA serves over 8 million people daily and there have been multiple complains about the transit system since it struggles to provide reliable service.   

My initiative for this assignment is to interview a couple of riders about this decision and one MTA employee. My focus of the story will be mainly on the riders’ view and how they are reacting to this proposal. What are more changes they want the MTA to do if they are going to raise the fare cost and what are the benefits for the passengers. For one of my interviewee I would like to conduct the interview in a train station so you can hear the train and also just the atmosphere of the subway. 

Two people I have confirmed for this interview is Andrew Daley, an MTA bus driver and Kamaria Byfield, a part time worker but a full-time student who takes the transit every day. Andrew would be a perfect fir for this interview since he has come in contact with riders daily who does not pay fare and how would he handle this situation when the price raises. Kamaria on the other hand who complains weekly about the service and just paying $2.75, would it be a financial burden on her side.   

Also I would like to compare a morning train rider and a late night train rider and their experiences with MTA at that time. If the proposal is successful I would like to know if riders will still use the transit as means of commute frequently and is it worth paying $3? Also I would like to explore other areas of the economy also since the MTA would like to raise the fare. Are wages going to be raised as well? These are some different angles I would like to take in this assignment.