By Alex Ginsberg
Queens bus, subway and Long Island Rail Road riders greeted news that a judge had ordered the MTA to reverse its recent fare hikes with a mixture of elation, anger and skepticism.
“That sounds good to me,” said Mike Wyley as he waited for a train at the Jamaica LIRR station. “Sounds excellent.”
Wyley’s trip from Queens Village to Penn Station now costs him $146 with a monthly pass, up from $117 two weeks ago.
“That would be an extra $30 in my pocket,” the Elmont resident said.
Zita Cullum, a Bayside resident, said the Metropolitan Transportation Authority got just what it deserved.
“What goes around, comes around,” she said. “They did wrong.”
State Supreme Court Judge Louis York ordered the rollback May 14 after lawyers for the Straphangers’ Campaign filed suit, claiming MTA officials were not honest with the public during the public hearing that preceded the fare increase.
But for now the judge’s order is in judicial limbo, awaiting the decision of an appellate court on an appeal filed by the MTA.
York’s ruling followed allegations by state Comptroller Alan Hevesi and city Comptroller William Thompson that the MTA kept two separate sets of books — one for the public and one for internal use — to hide a large surplus.
The increases, which went into effect May 4, raised bus and subway fares from $1.50 to $2 and LIRR and Metro-North train fares by about 25 percent.
“Obviously, it’s better,” said 33-year-old Frank Domondon, as he waited for a LIRR train at the Bayside station. “The $2 [fare] went over the limit, especially when they found the MTA was keeping two books.”
Many were still too angry over the fare hikes to take much solace from the judge’s decision.
“They were trying to pull a fast one,” said Latchman Singh of Jamaica as he waited for a bus at Hillside Avenue and 188th Street. “They make enough profits. Why do we need to pay more?”
Singh was angry the rollback had not taken effect yet.
“It was supposed to start right away. We’ll still be paying extra for it.”
For many, the promise of the old fares coming back meant the possibility of returning to the LIRR trains.
“I’ll definitely go back to using the LIRR,” said Baysider Chris Kontou, who turned to buses and other means of transportation to get around after the fare hikes made the LIRR unaffordable.
“The commute is just really killing me,” said Kontou, a student at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan. “And they’re raising tuition as well.”
“It’s becoming unbearable to live in New York,” he added.
But many simply did not believe that the judge’s order would stand.
Mildred Munich, a Bellerose resident who owns a fire control company, was one such skeptic.
“I think it’s a good thing to lower it, but I doubt it’ll happen,” she said while waiting for a W train in Astoria. “When something goes up, it’s very unlikely that it goes down.”
Mike, a Massapequa resident who declined to give his last name, saw it the same way.
“When I see it, I’ll believe it,” he said.
TimesLedger staff contributed to this article.
Reach reporter Alex Ginsberg by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 157.
