NEW YORK, NY July 22, 2008 —The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is going to propose another fare and toll hike tomorrow. If approved, it would go into effect next July, making it only the second time in history when the city has seen two fare hikes in consecutive years. WNYC's Matthew Schuerman has more.

REPORTER: The agency started seeing its financial condition go south four months ago, when the revenues it gets from real estate taxes began to plummet.

Now, officials are projecting a $900 million deficit for next year. But faced with increasingly crowded trains, MTA chief executive Lee Sander has decided against cutting service, according to an official briefed on the plan. Instead, he is going begging everywhere, to Gov. David Paterson, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the federal government, and riders.

The agency will propose an eight percent fare hike, though it won't specify just how that will be broken down among the different railroads and types of MetroCards. But the $2 subway fare, which has been around for five years, is already beginning to feel old-fashioned. For WNYC, I'm Matthew Schuerman.

HOST: The MTA board will hold public hearings on the fare hike this fall and vote in December.