MANHATTAN — The MTA may raise fares higher than they expected in 2011 as the cash-strapped agency's budget gap widens.
The agency revealed on Wednesday that despite a doomsday plan to slash subway and bus service to close a $383 million budget gap, the agency will still be $400 million in the hole if further action isn't taken.
The reason: Revenue from an MTA bailout plan passed last year by Albany continues to come up short. That means the 7.5 percent fare hike planned for 2011 will go even higher, sources told the New York Post.
"When we agreed to the bailout, we agreed to certain revenues," the source told the paper. "Forget that they're not coming in 2010 — those revenues also aren't coming in 2011."
The MTA has proposed service cuts including elimination of the Z and the W lines in Manhattan, as well as eliminating free rides for school children.
"[The new shortfall] intensifies the difficulties," Assemblyman Richard Brodsky told the Daily News. "The priorities remain the same - getting the MTA some more money, if we can, and restoring student passes. But as the days go by, those things get more difficult to do."
The agency has been pressed by elected officials to use federal stimulus money earmarked for capital construction projects to close their budget gap, the News reported. The agency so far has resisted that move.
