Service Cuts, Fare Hikes Come and Go

By GINGER ADAMS OTIS

Multiple press releases, one union protest and a clarification from Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Peter S. Kalikow were all it took to unravel the mystery of the great fare hike that never was on Sept. 20.

Charges and counter-charges began flying that morning after the New York Times reported a proposed MTA budget cut of $20 million in public transportation services while possibly raising fares. Elected officials, transit rider advocacy groups, Transport Workers' Union Local 100 and MTA spokesmen exchanged warring statements for the better part of the afternoon.

When Local 100 held a protest in Brooklyn urging the MTA to "cut the suits, not the service," a New York City Transit spokesman had statistics at the ready to show that administrative positions since 1996 have been reduced by 16 percent.

The sparring continued until Chairman Kalikow released a late afternoon statement squashing the possibility of immediate fare hikes and noting that "now is not the time to reduce service to our commuters." There was no explanation, however, as to why the proposal was made in the first place.