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| Lawmaker rips new MetroCard surcharge as ‘unfair’ to northeast Queens (1170241) | |||
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Lawmaker rips new MetroCard surcharge as ‘unfair’ to northeast Queens |
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Posted by Gold_12TH on Fri Aug 3 02:08:23 2012, in response to Queens assemblyman trying to nix proposed $1 surcharge on MetroCards, posted by Gold_12TH on Fri Aug 3 02:02:19 2012. The new “green” MetroCard surcharge is making one northeast Queens lawmaker red in the face.Assemblyman Edward Braunstein blasted the MTA on Tuesday, saying the $1 surcharge to encourage riders to re-use the cards is unfair to bus riders in his district. Many riders buy their MetroCards at Long Island Rail Road station vending machines where cards can’t be refilled, he said, forcing them to buy a new card. “Their whole justification is the environment and I get that,” said Braunstein (D-Bayside). “But if you can’t refill the card, it’s just unfair.” The surcharge has been on the table in Metropolitan Transportation Authority budget discussions since 2010. When the charge was announced in July 2011 as likely to go into effect in 2013, Braunstein wrote a letter to New York City Transit President Thomas Prendergast explaining that it placed an unfair burden on an area where there are no subway stations. Prendergast wrote back that riders had the option of avoiding the surcharge if they bought the cards at off-site vendors or if they bought a combination commuter-railroad card. The preliminary 2013 budget included a number of service restorations, with a partial reinstatement of the Q79 bus, which many commuters see as key in northeast Queens where mass transit options are few. But Braunstein said that he’s not satisfied with taking the good with the bad. “We can’t just say, ‘Well, we’re happy enough’ when they’re restoring service that was already cut,” Braunstein said of the Q79, which is coming back next year after getting the axe in 2010. Steve Newman, former chairman of Community Board 11 and one-time assistant to the city transportation commissioner, said the fee is a great way to promote environmental responsibility and generate revenue for the MTA. But “you shouldn’t be penalized for something if you can’t do it,” Newman said. Customers can use Easy PayXpress to buy their MetroCards, an MTA spokesman said, which allows customers to avoid the charge by automatically deducting purchases from their credit or debit cards. The spokesman, Kevin Ortiz, also noted that there are many off-site vendors available to riders, and said that making refillable cards available for sale at LIRR stations is “something we’re looking into.” ---http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/lawmaker-rips-new-metrocard-surcharge-unfair-northeast-queens-article-1.1126779#ixzz22ScaVqUa |
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