Transit & Streets Reviewed 2026-08-22
How the MTA actually raises fares
The MTA Board sets fares by a majority vote of its full membership, with the chair breaking any tie, and state law requires a public hearing first for any fare or toll change. The board last used that power on September 30, 2025, adopting an 11-0 vote, with two abstentions, that raised the base subway and bus fare from $2.90 to $3.00 effective January 4, 2026, after a six-week public comment process.
The numbers that matter
- Who votes
- The MTA Board: a chairperson and sixteen other voting members, appointed by the governor, plus non-voting and alternate seats (New York Public Authorities Law § 1263, read August 2026)
- The hearing requirement
- Fares may be established or changed only by board resolution, adopted by a majority of the whole membership, and only after a public hearing (New York Public Authorities Law § 1266(3), read August 2026)
- How the seats are filled
- Four of the sixteen voting members on the mayor of New York City's recommendation, seven on the recommendation of county chief executives, and five appointed by the governor directly (New York Public Authorities Law § 1263, read August 2026)
- The last adopted increase
- Approved by an 11-0 vote, with two abstentions, on September 30, 2025; base fare rose from $2.90 to $3.00 effective January 4, 2026 (MTA press release, September 30, 2025, read August 2026)
- The 2025 public process
- A six-week public comment period with three hybrid public hearings, 22 remote comment sessions, and 1,378 comments received (MTA press release, September 30, 2025, read August 2026)
- How often
- Modest fare and toll increases timed to inflation roughly every other year since 2009 (MTA press release, September 30, 2025, read August 2026)
The board that votes
A fare increase is a vote of a specific, state-created body, not a management decision. The law that creates it spells out its membership first:
There is hereby created the "metropolitan transportation authority." The authority shall be a body corporate and politic constituting a public benefit corporation. The authority shall consist of a chairperson, sixteen other voting members, and two non-voting and four alternate non-voting members, as described in subparagraph two of this paragraph appointed by the governor by and with the advice and consent of the senate.
Four of the sixteen voting members other than the chairperson shall be appointed on the written recommendation of the mayor of the city of New York; and each of seven other voting members other than the chairperson shall be appointed after selection from a written list of three recommendations from the chief executive officer of the county in which the particular member is required to reside pursuant to the provisions of this subdivision.
Four plus seven is eleven of the sixteen. The rest come straight from the governor, no recommendation required.
Of the five voting members, other than the chairperson, appointed by the governor without recommendation from any other person, three shall be, at the time of appointment, residents of the city of New York and two shall be, at the time of appointment, residents of such city or of any of the aforementioned counties in the metropolitan commuter transportation district.
The vote, and the hearing the law requires
Casting the actual vote follows the same rule as any other board action: the board needs a majority of its whole membership, whoever happens to show up.
A majority of the whole number of members of the authority then in office shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of any business or the exercise of any power of the authority. Except as otherwise specified in this title, for the transaction of any business or the exercise of any power of the authority, the authority shall have power to act by a majority vote of the members present at any meeting at which a quorum is in attendance and except further, that in the event of a tie vote the chairman shall cast one additional vote.
Fares get a stricter rule layered on top of that general one: no fare or toll can move without a public hearing first.
Any such fares, tolls, rentals, rates, charges or other fees for the transportation of passengers shall be established and changed only if approved by resolution of the authority adopted by not less than a majority vote of the whole number of members of the authority then in office, with the chairman having one additional vote in the event of a tie vote, and only after a public hearing, provided however, that fares, tolls, rentals, rates, charges or other fees for the transportation of passengers on any transportation facility which are in effect at the time that the then owner of such transportation facility becomes a subsidiary corporation of the authority or at the time that operation of such transportation facility is commenced by the authority or is commenced under contract, lease or other arrangement, including joint service arrangements, with the authority may be continued in effect without such a hearing.
The hearing requirement has one carve-out: a fare already in effect when the MTA takes over a facility does not need a fresh hearing just because ownership changed hands.
The timetable in practice
The statute sets a floor of one hearing. The MTA's actual 2025 process, ahead of the increase that took effect in January 2026, ran well past it:
These modifications followed an extensive six-week public comment period – featuring three hybrid public hearings, 22 public comment sessions at remote locations across the system, online comment portal, and other channels provided. The MTA received a total of 1,378 of comments – four times greater than in 2023.
Three hearings, not one, held in the counties the change touched, plus 22 additional in-person sessions. The law's floor is a single hearing; the agency's own practice is broader than what it is required to do.
What the last adopted increase did
The board voted on September 30, 2025, and most of what it approved took effect in January 2026, timed to the systemwide switch to tap-and-go.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Board today approved toll and fare increases, along with a series of fare and ticket policy changes designed to simplify the array of offerings to prioritize affordability on New York City Transit’s subways and buses, the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), and the Metro-North Railroad. The vote was 11-0, with two abstentions.
The base fare for subways, local buses, and Access-A-Ride is increasing 10 cents, from $2.90 to $3.
They accompany modest proposed fare and toll rate increases to keep pace with inflation, as they have every other year since 2009.
A biennial rhythm since 2009 is why a rider can generally expect a small increase roughly every other year rather than one large jump.
For what the automatic weekly cap did to the cost of riding through that same increase, see how OMNY fare capping works; for where the fare and toll money actually goes, how the MTA is funded.
The questions New Yorkers actually ask
Who votes on MTA fare increases?
The MTA Board: a chairperson and sixteen other voting members, all appointed by the governor. Four of the sixteen are appointed on the recommendation of the mayor of New York City, seven on the recommendation of county chief executives in the region, and five directly by the governor. A fare change needs a majority of the whole board's membership regardless of attendance, and the chair casts an extra vote to break a tie.
Does the MTA have to hold a public hearing before raising fares?
Yes. State law says fares and tolls may be established or changed only by board resolution and only after a public hearing, with one narrow exception for a fare that was already in effect when the MTA took over a facility.
How many public hearings did the MTA hold before the 2026 fare increase?
Three hybrid public hearings, plus 22 additional public comment sessions at remote locations across the system, an online comment portal, and other channels, over a six-week comment period. The MTA received 1,378 comments, about four times as many as in 2023.
What was the last MTA fare increase?
The board voted 11-0, with two abstentions, on September 30, 2025, raising the base subway and local bus fare from $2.90 to $3.00, effective January 4, 2026, alongside toll increases and a series of ticketing changes.
How often does the MTA raise fares?
Roughly every other year since 2009, in modest increases timed to keep pace with inflation rather than in large, unpredictable jumps, according to the MTA.
The documents
The public records this page draws on. Read them yourself:
Now watch the machinery move.
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