The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Board 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. Most of these changes will take effect in January 2026 to align with the full systemwide rollout of the tap-and-ride technology.
If the fare increase were adjusted to match the pace of inflation since the last increase in 2023, the base subway and bus fare would cost $3.14. While the cost of the fare remains below inflation and has remained so over the last few years, the MTA heard the concerns about citywide affordability during the public comment period. The recent adjustments to some of the proposals further prioritize affordability and value for customers. For information on these revisions, see here.
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.
New York City Transit
The base fare for subways, local buses, and Access-A-Ride is increasing 10 cents, from $2.90 to $3. The reduced fare is increasing from $1.45 to $1.50, and the express bus base fare is increasing from $7 to $7.25. Below are the fare policy updates that will take effect next year:
- OMNY seven-day fare-capping becomes permanent. The 7-day rolling fare cap, which allows customers to pay for 12 rides in a 7-day period and automatically ride free for the rest of the week with no pre-payment required, is becoming permanent. At the adjusted and approved base fare, no customer will pay more than $35 for subway and local bus rides in a week; reduced-fare customers will pay no more than $17.50 in a week. The prepaid MetroCard 7-Day, 30-Day, and Express Bus Plus unlimited passes will retire and be replaced with the automatic fare cap for all riders.
- Fare-capping extended to express bus network. Express bus customers will pay no more than $67 a week for unlimited express bus, local bus, and subway rides in any 7-day period.
- Tap-and-ride will be required for fare payment on subway, local and express bus. Beginning later in 2026, coins will no longer be accepted on buses but will continue to be accepted at card vending machines in subway stations and at one of the 2,700 local businesses that sell OMNY cards.
- OMNY charge and trip history available on OMNY. info. Customers are now able to track their trips and associated charges on OMNY.info. The page shows tap-and-ride customers their fare progress to unlimited rides. By mid-2026, the MTA app will include all self-service tools available on OMNY.info.
- Promotional $1 OMNY card fee ends by mid-2026. The fee for a new OMNY card will be $2 when the MTA no longer accepts MetroCard for fare payments. This is still lower than the original $5 fee. OMNY cards are more durable and last for up to 5 years, more than twice as long as the MetroCard.
Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad
For the commuter railroads, an average increase of up to 4.5% will apply to monthlies, weeklies, and one-way peak tickets (excluding City Tickets). There will be no increase to Metro-North’s Port Jervis and Pascack Valley lines. To view the full Metro-North fare table, see here. To view the full LIRR fare table approved, see here.
Given a 10% discount applied to monthly tickets in 2022 and suspension of the fare increase in 2021, the current cost of a monthly ticket is about the same price of a monthly ticket in 2019 when adjusted for inflation. Monthly ticket fares will not exceed $500.
-via Press Release
