MTA Blue-Light Special

Instead of rolling back fares during the holiday season why doesn’t the MTA use their nearly $1 billion surplus to put off inevitable fare hikes? Well what’s this about? The Daily News explains:

Happy Holidays, New York – from the MTA.

The agency wants to use part of its huge expected surplus to hand out unprecedented holiday season discounts to riders – including $1 weekend fares on city buses and subways from Thanksgiving through December, the Daily News has learned.

The goodies, detailed in a memo sent yesterday by MTA Executive Director Katherine Lapp to Chairman Peter Kalikow, drew cheers from straphangers, who have been whacked with two fare hikes since 2003.

“This would definitely help me out,” said Adriana Kowaliw, 22, of Manhattan, a recent college graduate who works in banking. “It would be a nice treat for New Yorkers.”

A nice treat? A nice treat?! Can’t you think of other things that would be nicer treats? Like, say, no more weekend service disruptions? Or twenty feet of a Second Avenue line? Or what about a fully functional G train? Just asking!