NYC Raises Subway Fares; Sky Falls

Travel Blog  •  Eva Holland  •  05.13.09 | 2:50 PM ET

Photo by Eva Holland

After months of ominous foreshadowing, New York City’s transit authority finally did it: Effective June 28, subway and bus fares will jump from $2.00 to $2.25. Reaction has been swift and snarky—check out this satirical subway advisory, for instance. Said one commenter on this Jaunted post about the hike: “Yet again NYC trumps all when it comes to being plain expensive.”

Whoa, hold on a minute. Sure, nobody likes a price increase, especially when consumers aren’t expecting to see improved service in return—the move is an effort to stop the bleeding, not rejuvenate the system. But New York City’s public transit is still cheap compared to what’s available in other big cities, and—much like the city itself, which I will always maintain is a fantastic budget destination—it remains a great value for money.

Let’s take a look at the fares in some other large, urban tourist magnets around the world.

First up: London, where the standard cash fare for a ride from Paddington to King’s Cross, both within Zone One, will set you back £4.00, or about $6.00. A ride from Zone One all the way out to Zone Nine? Don’t even ask. Meanwhile, in Paris, a single fare costs €1.60, or about $2.17, just a shade cheaper than New York’s new price. Toronto? $2.75 in Canadian dollars—these days, around $2.34 U.S. Or how about Chicago? It matches NYC exactly, also charging $2.25 per ride.

Even my own hometown of Ottawa—hardly known as one of the world’s best-loved metropolises—charges a basic cash fare of $3.00 for the privilege of setting foot on an OC Transpo bus, and $4.00 or $5.00 for the express and rural routes. Think about it: Would you rather pay $3.00 to visit the Canadian Currency Museum, or $2.25 to visit the Met?

I don’t mean to be unsympathetic to MTA regulars. But I don’t like perpetuating the myth that New York City (rent aside!) is horrifically expensive, either. That constant refrain scares the penny-pinching traveler away from visiting the city, which is a shame, because as far as I’m concerned it’s actually the budget traveler’s ultimate urban playground.

Unconvinced? Well, here’s a budget tip for you: @coovents tweets happy hour specials from around the city, so you can pull up a stool, grab a discount drink, and drown your subway-fare-hike sorrows on the cheap.


Eva Holland is co-editor of World Hum. She is a former associate editor at Up Here and Up Here Business magazines, and a contributor to Vela. She's based in Canada's Yukon territory.


6 Comments for NYC Raises Subway Fares; Sky Falls

Grizzly Bear Mom 05.13.09 | 3:17 PM ET

Although I’m a country raised girl, now living in the suburbs, I see the DC metro as God’s gift to us commuters.  Because mass transit cheaper, I drive in only once a year and I only know how to get around the city by subway.  I even use it on weekend when traffic is much less.  On the commuter train/subway I can sleep, read, write, and its less stressful.  WMATA has a link on line where one can figure the cost of driving in, and its five times as much to drive in and pay to park.  Maybe NY needs to put a similar link on their webpage.  I think that more cities should tax for driving downtown, similarly to what they do in London, to subsidize the more cost effective and conveneint mass transit.

Jenna Schnuer 05.14.09 | 9:50 AM ET

It’s not just rent. It’s our taxes. And our electric bills (which are seriously out of whack—I pay a lot more for my one-bedroom apartment than friends in NJ pay for three-bedroom houses in NJ). And…. For a one-off ride here and there, the subway is a great bargain—but for daily commuters who keep seeing the price go up and up with services not doing the same, it’s frustrating. And, quite frankly, a price hike is a lot harder to take when a stinky sweltering hot subway summer is before us. Don’t get me wrong: I love NYC and the subways. I grew up nearby and have lived in the city for 16 (or is it 17?) years. But the price of living here can get a girl down - and a subway price hike just adds to it. Besides, bitching about stuff is one of the things New Yorkers do best. We are not us without it.

As for visitors to the city, yes, NYC can definitely be done on the cheap(ish).

Robert Reid 05.14.09 | 11:05 AM ET

Interesting perspective—I like the positive energy—but I can’t help but add a little snark myself: New York City has more expensive public transit rides to two of its airports—JFK and Newark—than (more remote) Paris, London or Tokyo, among others.

JFK, for example, has a helpful little Air Train that greets the long subway rides to its parking lot, and charges a whopping $5 for the last 150 yards. That used to be free when it was a simple bus transfer.

Newark is far worse. It uses the NJ Transit commuter line and charges about 250% the price ($15 for the 20-minute ride from NYC) to get out of the airport than either stations before or after it! That premium doesn’t apply to NJ-NJ fares, so it’s kind of an anti-NYC sting.

Anyway, someone needs to make a comparative rat-spotting graph at metros of Ottawa, London, Moscow and New York.

JackieB 05.14.09 | 4:04 PM ET

New York IS horrifically expensive. Yes, it’s possible to live here on the cheap, but is it easy? Absolutely not!! Research into something as mundane as laundry is an absolute necessity here, and it’s STILL expensive. I love living here to death but it can get exhausting. Visiting, of course, is a whole different can of worms. Visitors don’t mind shopping around, travelling around and doing a little research. Much more of a pain in the ass when you live here.

bob 05.14.09 | 5:22 PM ET

The problem with this analysis is that no one in NY actually pays the official one ride fare. There are passes for 30 days, 7 days, 1 day, and cash value metocards offering a discount. Plus they added free subway to bus transfers a few years ago. The actual average fare is about $1.80, I’ve read.

Another point not really covered is that the NY fare takes you anywhere the system goes in the city: No zones like London and so many other places.

And, unless you’re going to/from Brooklyn, AirTrain via Jamaica is a better route for the same fare. You get more subway options, or the LIRR. I rode that bus at JFK - it took 40 minutes (it’s several miles, not 150 yards). No one misses it.

Robert Reid 05.14.09 | 7:23 PM ET

Bob, I applaud your positive energy about the bus too. I did exaggerate, I’ll admit it. But the point is still there. We taxpayers paid for that train link, and now we are rewarded for our painful journey by subway all the way to the airport by paying an extra $5, making it $7 (or $7.25) one way. If three or four people going, you might as well take a cab.

Again, Newark is much worse.

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