NYC Subway Fare over last 120 years adjusted for inflationdust1990 OP t1_jclxwio wrote
OP here, just posting the data as I thought it was interesting. The current fare of $2.75 has been in place for nearly 8 years, which is the third longest stretch. The initial fare of $0.05 was in place for over 44 years and there was a 13 year stretch in the 50s and 60s with a $0.15 fare.
Source: CPI-U, 1913 to 2023
Source: Inflation, 1904 to 1912
Source: Subway Fares
ottprim t1_jcmc78v wrote
The $0.05 was a political thing. Every mayor ran with the promise to keep that fare. It was the cause of the three systems going bankrupt leaving the running of the subway to the city.
sutisuc t1_jcmx65e wrote
Weren’t all the subway lines privately run at that point?
ottprim t1_jcmxywg wrote
Yes. The BMT, IRT, and IND were companies. Some had buses too, but the city legislated the fare the could charge.
AwesomeWhiteDude t1_jcnv3pu wrote
IND was owned and operated by the city
Sun_Devilish t1_jcnn80l wrote
> the city legislated the fare the could charge.
/facepalm
No wonder they went out of business.
Past-Passenger9129 t1_jcowst0 wrote
To be fair, look at the crazy curve of the cost relative to today's dollar over that 40+ year span. The economy was anything but stable.
sutisuc t1_jcmy84h wrote
Wow. Can’t even fathom the city trying to dictate what a private company could charge today. Thanks for sharing
funforyourlife t1_jcn12bt wrote
Utility companies literally have their rates set by the government
bayoublue t1_jcnruvj wrote
The city payed for the construction of the subway lines and owned them. The private operators had operating agreements to run them.
ottprim t1_jcn3gkl wrote
There's an interesting book about the early subway called Uptown/Downtown.
https://www.amazon.com/Uptown-Downtown-Through-Yorks-Subways/dp/0801581966
sutisuc t1_jcn6m9n wrote
Thanks I’ll check it out
Powerful-Attorney-26 t1_jcrtu3p wrote
The city had paid for the construction and let the private companies make the profits. The actual tracks and stations have always been owned by the city. Massive corporate welfare. And indeed the owners of the private companies make a fortune early in the subways' existence. First of all the seems were profitable themselves for about the first ten years, and the owners were able to engage in massive amounts of land speculation because they knew where the lines and stations were going to be put.
IIAOPSW t1_jcnjfd2 wrote
This is almost true. It was a political thing, but mayors didn't run on it. Rather, the 5 cent fare was a stipulation in the dual contracts the city had with the IRT and BMT to build and operate the subway. These companies couldn't legally raise their fares.
anonyuser415 t1_jcnodxi wrote
You have the arrangement right, but the person you're replying to had it right too. It was a massive issue after post-WWI inflation. Reading the wording of the contracts I don't really get it. The contracts say the fare will be a nickle until 1966. But there it is:
> Well before [the price increased to a dime in 1948] the issue of whether to increase the fare had challenged many mayors, become the subject of campaign promises and provoked fierce clashes with powerful interest groups.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/12/nyregion/mta-fare-hike.html
> Mayor John Hylan, who took office in 1918, made the nickel fare a linchpin of his administration and a cudgel he used against the IRT and BRT. The city’s insistence on retaining the nickel fare became a political hot potato that affected every mayor from Hylan to William O’Dwyer, who took office in 1946. During O’Dwyer’s first term, the historic nickel barrier was finally breached, but not before years of contentious, vociferous, and often bitter debates about the merits and problems of charging five cents for a ride that could be twenty miles long from Wakefield in the Bronx to East New York in Brooklyn.
https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9780823261925-009/html
ManhattanRailfan t1_jcm42jh wrote
To caveat, however, there have been several times when there has been a bonus on the fare. Up until a couple years ago, you used to get an extra 5% when you put money on your metrocard, so the fare has essentially gone up more recently than that. The cost of unlimited metrocards and MNR/LIRR fares also increased.
dust1990 OP t1_jcm5d6v wrote
True this doesn’t factor the bonus which recently went away. This plots the base fare only. Do you know where I might find info on the bonus history? Regardless I doubt it would make much difference.
Edit: thanks everyone. I’ll try to add this to see if it makes a material difference.
colonelcasey22 t1_jcm8t8f wrote
Looks like the history of the MetroCard bonuses of it can be extracted here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MetroCard
Doubt it's ever coming back with OMNY in effect and fewer people pre-loading amounts to a card.
Pennwisedom t1_jcnn150 wrote
> ewer people pre-loading amounts to a card.
It's a chicken and the egg problem in this case really. I stopped pre-loading my card because the bonus went away.
WikiSummarizerBot t1_jcm8uuf wrote
>The MetroCard is a magnetic stripe card used for fare payment on transportation in the New York City area. It is a payment method for the New York City Subway (including the Staten Island Railway), New York City Transit buses and MTA buses. The MetroCard is also accepted by several partner agencies: Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE), the PATH train system, the Roosevelt Island Tramway, AirTrain JFK, and Westchester County's Bee-Line Bus System. The MetroCard was introduced in 1993 to enhance the technology of the transit system and eliminate the burden of carrying and collecting tokens.
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ManhattanRailfan t1_jcm9g19 wrote
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/MetroCard under history. It actually would make a decent dent. At one point, the bonus was 20%.
doodle77 t1_jcprlar wrote
Also the unlimited MetroCard.
The MTA reports the average fare paid per ride in it's annual reports. In 2019 it was $2.10, and it increased significantly in the pandemic as commutation ridership dropped.
damnatio_memoriae t1_jcnryvr wrote
used to be a whopping 20%. when they dropped it to 15% it was a big deal.
mowotlarx t1_jcosuop wrote
I miss the bonus.
PatrickMaloney1 t1_jcok4vs wrote
OP, if you get bored, I’d love to see another line showing overall ridership during the same period, but this is already great as it is so no pressure
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