The MTA most recently raised subway fare to $2.90 on August 20th, 2023, and it won’t be long until another fare hike is expected to take place.
Prior to the most recent fare increase, the cost of a single subway ride was $2.75. It remained at that constant price for over eight years.
If you continue to go backwards in time, subway fare was $2.50 between 2013-2015. Hell, if you go way back to the first subway fare-ever, it only cost five cents in 1904. So in this timeline of fare hikes, the trend shows us that as time goes on, subway fares will inevitably continue to increase.
More concretely, the MTA decided to increase subway fare every two years before the pandemic hit. However, the scheduled 2021 fare hike was avoided due to funding from Governor Kathy Hochul. But by 2023, a single subway ride increased by $0.15, totally to $2.90, where it remains today. This change, in addition to the toll increase, was estimated to generate an extra $117 million for the year.
So according to the MTA’s proposed biennial fare increases, New Yorkers can expect the next fare hike in 2025. The MTA explained commuters can assume a 4% increase to subway fares by then, and another 4% increase come 2027.
So why does the MTA want to routinely increase subway fare? The MTA shared in a press release at the time of the most recent fare increase that the change in fare was necessary for the MTA to maintain service levels and increase service frequency as the subways continue to rebound from the pandemic.