An MTA Fare Hike Is Coming in 2026; Here’s What You’ll Pay Next Year
The fare hike will go into effect early next year.
The Raise Heard Across the City
Your daily commute, along with your child’s, will become a little more expensive starting next year.
During the MTA’s monthly board meeting on Wednesday, it was proposed to raise the fare ten cents to $3, starting in 2026.
Subways and buses would be $3, while single-ride OMNY cards would raise from $3.25 to $3.50. Express buses would increase from $7 to $7.25.
The date change comes as the hike, originally slated to raise during the summer of 2025, loomed over straphangers heads’. It also comes as the MTA continues to push the OMNY commuter system and fully phase out Metrocards.
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The current fare is $2.90, up from its original $2.00 base fare in 2003. While ridership has increased since the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, there have been a slew of issues with the underground system.
“This is absolutely outrageous. That last increase led to subpar service as it is,” Roger Smith, an Upper West Side resident, told our sister publication, amNewYork. “I wish us New Yorkers could audit the MTA because this is absolutely ridiculous at this point,” he said. “Track maintenance and the trains and buses are never on time. Where is our money going?” said another straphanger.
If the proposal is approved, tolls across the city would also increase by a whopping 7.5%.
Fare Evasions Cause Budget Problems
However, MTA CEO and Chair Janno Lieber believes the fare hike is justified.
“And we also needed to keep the capital program on track to earn the public’s trust on how the MTA was going to spend money,” he tells amNewYork.
In 2024, the MTA had a 19.3 billion dollar budget, with over $400 million going towards operating efficiencies to reduce expenses and improve service to customers. However, the system says they have been hit hard financially by fare evasion, risks and passenger revenue. According to Crain’s New York Business, the MTA cut by $100 million its farebox revenue forecast for 2024, with paid ridership on buses and subways falling short of projections. According to its data, they report that 55 percent of bus ridership is paid, below the MTA’s 70 percent goal.
Back in May, Lieber told Gothamist that he expected the MTA to lose as much as $800 million this year from fare evasion on subways and buses – about the same amount the agency lost in 2022. He proposed a delayed gate, that would prevent riders from skipping the fare by just walking through.
“When you open that gate, 20 people walk in,” he told the outlet. “It’s 20 people walking in with MetroCards in their hands. So that’s why we’re going to fight the fight on the [delayed] gate. That’s why the delay matters so goddamn much.”
The NYPD has stiffened enforcement, with a 50% boost in summonses issued for skipping the fare, Lieber told Crain’s. More MTA workers guard exit doors to prevent riders from accessing the subway system through those openings. The transit agency is also updating entryway infrastructure to prohibit jumping over turnstiles.
Violence Continues On The Commute
Despite the dip in revenue, this year the subway has witnessed an increase in violence and death, including shootings, subway surfings and stabbings. amNewYork reported a 30 percent increase in rapes in October, and five more murders in October of this year compared to October 2023 (29 vs. 24).
Safety for teenagers riding the subway has also seen a decline, as subway surfing trends have increased. Just a few months ago, a young teenage girl became the 6th person to die from the trend.
What Else You Need to Know
The fare hike is expected to go into effect on January 4, 2026.
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