MTA officials: No plans for more fare hikes

The MTA was not alone in having to raise fares and reduce service because of the tough economy. But it expects to avoid drastic measures in the foreseeable future, transit officials said Wednesday.

A study released Wednesday by the American Public Transportation Association, found that more than half of the public transit systems in the United States have resorted to some combination of fare hikes and service cuts since January 2010 to fill growing budget gaps.

"It's a very challenging time," said Mantill Williams, spokesman for the association, which represents public agencies and private companies in the transit industry. APTA did not release the names of the 117 agencies that took part in the study, but Williams confirmed that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority did participate.

The study reflected the financial woes faced by the MTA and other systems nationwide since a recession began in 2008. Since the fall of 2008, the MTA has seen two fare hikes and significantly reduced service systemwide last year, including a reduction in off-peak service on the LIRR's Port Washington line by half and axing 11 Long Island Bus routes. The agency also laid off more than 1,000 workers last year.

The study found that another 28 percent of transit agencies still have plans for service cuts or fare hikes. MTA officials said Wednesday that they don't anticipate measures beyond future fare hikes already planned and announced.

"The MTA has obviously been hit very hard, along with transit agencies all over the country, by the economic crisis. It had an impact on our funding in all sorts of different ways and led us to take some painful actions in the past," MTA spokesman Jeremy Soffin said. "I think the important point for the MTA now is that, because of an unprecedented cost-cutting effort that began in 2010, we last month put forward a financial plan that shows stability."

The cuts already in place and other efficiencies are saving the MTA more than $600 million a year, a figure expected to grow to $800 million by 2015.

SEE PHOTOSLIRR trains and commuters through the years

As a term of a 2009 state bailout, the MTA plans fare and toll hikes to yield a 7.5 percent boost in revenue in 2013, and increases of the same percentage every other year after that.

The study found that, nationally, the top challenges facing transit agencies were maintaining local and state government funding and coping with high fuel costs. Of the agencies that responded, 83 percent saw flat or decreased state funding as has the MTA in recent years.

APTA President William Millar said the situation could get even worse if Congress passes a resolution to cut an additional 37 percent in federal funding to public transportation systems.

"It will have a chilling effect on our country's ability to create jobs and provide access to jobs necessary to move the economy forward," Millar said.