New Yorkers say the ‘fare ain’t fair’
New York, June 25 — Activists rallied this morning in front of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s skyscraper headquarters in lower Manhattan. They protested the MTA’s plan to hike the Big Apple’s transit fare to $3 on Aug. 1.
That’s 60 times what it cost to ride a bus, streetcar or subway back in 1948. It amounts to a weekly $30 transportation tax for workers just going to and from their jobs five days a week.
The action was called by the Fare Ain’t Fair campaign initiated
by the December 12th Movement. Speakers from D12, the New York Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, the Party for Socialism and Liberation, and Struggle-La Lucha newspaper attacked the $3 fare as another cutback for poor and working people.
They pointed out that MTA is a cash cow for banks and wealthy investors, who are slurping up $2.8 billion in tax-free interest annually. It’s estimated that by 2028, the MTA will be $60 billion in debt.
It’s to protect these bondholders that thousands of cops are in the subways, arresting poor people for allegedly jumping turnstiles.
Mike Quill — the founder of the Transport Workers Union — once called for the fare to be free. Activists are hoping that NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, who is campaigning to freeze rents, will also demand a rollback in transit fares.
Later that day, MTA Chairman Janno Lieber announced that the fare would not be increased on August 1, as originally planned, but would take effect later in the year. Lieber — whose salary was $400,999 in 2023 — doesn’t have to worry about paying any fare.
This shows that the MTA fears the power of the people. It’s time to increase the pressure. The fare ain’t fair!
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