NEW YORK (TIP): A sweeping price hike that covers subway, bus, rail fares and tolls, takes effect on Sunday, March 22.
A monthly Metro Card price will go up from $112 to$116.50, a single trip will rise from $2.50 to $2.75, and the weekly card goes up a buck to $31.
Riders will get some relief with a larger bonus for loading money on their Metro Cards.
It will be increased from 5 percent to 11 percent, but straphangers will now have to load at least $5.50 to get the bonus. Before, they could get it by putting $5 on their cards.
Cash tolls on the Verrazano will go from $15 to $16. Staten Island residents who use E-ZPass for 3 more trips a month will see a 24-cent increase to $6.24 a trip.
For crossings like the Throgs Neck Bridge and Queens Midtown Tunnel, cash tolls will go from $7.50 to $8.
The MTA’s financial woes include a $15 billion deficit in its capital plan, which funds big projects like the Second Avenue Subway and bringing the LIRR to Grand Central.
It said it has cut its annual spending by more than a billion a year. The fare hike will bring in an additional$210 million for the MTA this year, and more than $260 million a year by 2018.