The MTA released notice that they will be conducting public hearings regarding fare hikes around the New York.

The hearings will begin in mid January and continue through the first week of February.

This is the initial part of the announcement:

Hearings will be held on proposed changes in fares and crossing charges, levels of service and partial or complete closings of subway stations or of means of public access to stations. Proposed changes are summarized below and pertain, as applicable, to MTA New York City Transit (NYCT), the Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority (MaBSTOA), MTA Staten Island Railway (SIR), MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), MTA Metro-North Railroad (MNR), MTA Bridges and Tunnels (B&T), MTA Long Island Bus (LI Bus) and MTA Bus.

Space limitations prevent newspaper publication of each proposed new fare or crossing charge [ohh how convenient] and of details of proposed changes at stations or in level of service. For more complete descriptions of these potential changes, please consult information posted at MTA stations and on the MTA website, http://www.mta.info or call 212-878-7483. Please note: other service adjustments and cost-reduction steps are under consideration that may also affect operation of subway, bus and rail lines, bridges and tunnels, staffing of stations and general provision of service. Although these possible changes do not require public hearing, they are described in informational material available on the MTA website.

You can read the entire PDF of the announcement here.

The announcement includes the boiled down details of the proposed fare hikes and service cuts.

• $2.50 Single Ride fares on Subways and Busses, but allowing for future increase to $3.00
• Upping the threshold for fare bonuses from $7 to $12.50
• $9.50 Unlimited One Day fare (I remember when this was $4.00!)
• $32.00 Unlimited Seven Day fare
• $105.00 Unlimited Monthly fare

Also, they plan to eliminate student discount fares on express buses, so I would expect to see more students riding the subway.There’s also a variety of service cuts and service changes.  The W train would be gone all together.  Otherwise, you may not notice a ton of service changes during weekdays while the sun is up.  Nights and weekends could get pretty rough.  You’ll have to take a look at the announcement or MTA website to see all the service cut details.

It will be interesting to see if the members of the MTA board actually show up at the hearings.  As you might recall from the last hearing, many didn’t even bother to attend the hearings!

Will there be shoes thrown?  One can only hope.