Fare Hike Stands
An appeals court has decided to let the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's recent hikes to transit fares and bridge tolls stand.
Tuesday’s decision overturns two lower judges who had ordered the MTA to roll back the hikes. Two lawsuits, one focused on transit fares and the other on bridge tolls, had accused the MTA of intentionally misleading the public about its finances during public hearings before the increases.
The MTA’s victory keeps the basic fare for city subways and buses at $2, after a 50-cent hike in May. Higher ticket prices on Metro North and the Long Island Rail Road and higher tolls on the MTA’s nine bridges and tunnels will also remain in effect.
Both lawsuits – the Straphanger Campaign’s case against transit fare hikes and the suit on toll hikes filed by the state division of AAA – cited audits by the state and city comptrollers that accused the MTA of shifting a $500 million surplus to make the hikes appear necessary a year earlier than when they actually were.
But in a unanimous ruling, the appeals court said that the MTA complied with the letter of the law and that the public hearings were legally valid. The appeals court disagreed with the lower courts’ findings that the agency provided false and misleading information.
In the 28-page decision, the court said: “While it would be desirable from the public's perspective to have the MTA's budgeting processes be completely transparent and open for detailed inspection and, perhaps, robust public debate, such requirements would impose additional administrative burdens and costs. In either case, the Legislature has determined what is required; whether those requirements should be changed is a political decision for the Legislature to determine.”
It is unclear whether the Straphangers Campaign and the Automobile Club New York can appeal to the state’s highest court. They have scheduled a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
Tuesday’s decision overturns two lower judges who had ordered the MTA to roll back the hikes. Two lawsuits, one focused on transit fares and the other on bridge tolls, had accused the MTA of intentionally misleading the public about its finances during public hearings before the increases.
The MTA’s victory keeps the basic fare for city subways and buses at $2, after a 50-cent hike in May. Higher ticket prices on Metro North and the Long Island Rail Road and higher tolls on the MTA’s nine bridges and tunnels will also remain in effect.
Both lawsuits – the Straphanger Campaign’s case against transit fare hikes and the suit on toll hikes filed by the state division of AAA – cited audits by the state and city comptrollers that accused the MTA of shifting a $500 million surplus to make the hikes appear necessary a year earlier than when they actually were.
But in a unanimous ruling, the appeals court said that the MTA complied with the letter of the law and that the public hearings were legally valid. The appeals court disagreed with the lower courts’ findings that the agency provided false and misleading information.
In the 28-page decision, the court said: “While it would be desirable from the public's perspective to have the MTA's budgeting processes be completely transparent and open for detailed inspection and, perhaps, robust public debate, such requirements would impose additional administrative burdens and costs. In either case, the Legislature has determined what is required; whether those requirements should be changed is a political decision for the Legislature to determine.”
It is unclear whether the Straphangers Campaign and the Automobile Club New York can appeal to the state’s highest court. They have scheduled a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
