BCC president testifies against MTA’s transit fare hike
Charging that the proposed hike in bus and subway fares would devastate Brooklyn’s business owners, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce President Carlo Scissura testified against a MetroCard increase at a hearing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) held on Nov. 7.
“Last month, the MTA proposed a series of fare increases that would devastate residents and small businesses, particularly those in Southern and Central Brooklyn where transit options are scarce,” Scissura told an MTA panel at the public hearing Wednesday at the New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge downtown.
The hearing was one of several sessions the MTA will hold to get public feedback before its board votes on the fare increase proposal on Dec. 19. The board is expected to approve a plan to increase transit fares and bridge and tunnel tolls. Several proposals are currently under discussion. The most likely to be approved by the MTA would involve increasing bus and subway fares from $2.25 to $2.50 a ride, transit watchdogs said. The increases would go in to effect in early 2013.
“All the proposed increases would truly hurt the businesses in our borough as we recover and the Brooklyn Chamber strongly opposes any fare or toll increase at this time,” Scissura said.