Hiked

The MTA has approved fare and toll hikes for commuters in the NYC Metro area. While the base fare for buses and subways will not change, those who use Metrocards will see increased fares.

The board voted 12-2 to increase monthly Metrocards to $81 from $76 and weekly cards to $25 from $24. The hike comes even after legislators and transit riders came out against the plan.

The last base fare hike came to $2 from $1.50 in 2003. The various discount programs now in effect make the average actual fare about $1.30.

The fare increases will take effect March 2. Fares for the commuter rail and tolls will increase, and the discount provided for EZ Pass users will decrease:

Effective March 1, the cost of most weekly and monthly tickets on the Long Island Rail Road and the Metro-North Railroad will rise between 3.76 percent and 4.25 percent. On MTA bridges and tunnels, the E-ZPass toll for cars will increase by up to 3.8 percent, effective March 16.