MTA board members approve hike

Bah-humbug!

MTA board members voted to raise single-ride MetroCards by a quarter to $2.50 a ride and 30-day unlimited cards from $104 to $112. Seven-day unlimited cards would go up to $30 from the current $29.

In addition, there will be a $1 surcharge for new MetroCards purchased at subway stations, but not from retailers and merchants outside of the transit system.

Tolls on MTA Bridges and Tunnels are also being raised. E-Z-Pass users will now pay $5.33 instead of $4.08 on the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge, Queens Midtown Tunnel, Throgs Neck Bridge, Bronx-Whitestone Bridge and Brooklyn Battery Tunnel.

Verrazano-Narrows Bridge drivers without an EZ-Pass will have to cough up $15 to cross. Staten Island residents will get a break, though. They will be charged $6.36 per trip. Brooklynites with EZ-Pass will have to pay $10.66.

Express bus fare will go up 50 cents to $6.

Allen Cappelli was the only board member to vote against the hikes.

The fare and toll increases will go into effect on March 1, 2013.

For details, visit www.mta.info.