History of Subway Fares
If you are a New Yorker, odds are that you heard in 2026 the subway fare will be increasing to $3. As such, this felt like a great time to discuss the history of fare collection on the New York City subway. What did it cost to ride the subway when it first opened in 1904? When was the first fare hike in NYC subway history? What was the largest subway fare increase in New York City history. Let’s explore!
What Did The NYC Subway Cost When It First Opened?
The NYC subway opened in 1904. When the NYC subway first opened it cost just 5 cents to ride. You would buy a paper ticket for a nickel, hand it to a gate agent who would then put the ticket in a machine called the chopper, and then you’d walk through a giant turnstile to ride the train. This subway fare stayed at five cents for 44 years!
When Was The First Subway Fare Hike
1948 was the first year in New York City that faced the wrath of angry commuters grumbling about a subway fare hike. The first subway fare hike was July 1, 1948. The subway fare doubled to ten cents. While doubling the fare may seem drastic, it is important to remember that there hadn’t been a subway fare hike in 44 years! The fare would remain ten cents until July 25, 1953. More than five years without a fare hike isn’t so bad.
The Fifteen Cent Problem
In 1953, the subway fare was raised to fifteen cents. This was a ⅓ increase. While no doubt NYC commuters were unhappy with the fare increase, there was a bigger problem. The US doesn’t have a fifteen-cent coin. Since the NYC subway’s inception, commuters could speedily pass through with one coin, but now they needed two coins, and it caused a bit of a traffic jam. This created a need for the subway token. The small Y token was introduced and ultimately had a mintage of 48 million! This would work for the 15-cent fare, and then the 20-cent fare introduced in 1966. In 1970, when the subway fare increased to 30 cents, a “large” Y token was introduced with a mintage of 50 million.
When Did The NYC Subway Fare Increase to a Dollar?
Slowly over the next sixteen years, subway fares gradually increased from 30 cents in 1970 to $1 in 1986. It would hit $2 in 2003, before a bit of a subway fare freeze. 2003-2009 the subway fare stayed the same.
When Was the NYC Subway Card Introduced?
The NYC MetroCard is a fairly new invention. The NYC MetroCard was introduced in 1994. It’s goal was to reduce the burden of having to carry around a ton of tokens. The yellow and blue NYC MetroCard have certainly become an iconic symbol of NYC. The card was invented by Raymond Dekozan, an electrical engineer born in Virginia. HIs first job was helping create technology for the space race between Russia and the United States. In the 1990s he got a contract with the MTA, and the rest is history!
Recent NYC Subway Fare Hikes
While it may seem the cost of riding the subway is rising at a rapid speed, the price of the subway was $2.75 for more than 8 years. There were no fare increases between 2015 and 2023. Perhaps that is why the creep to $3 seems so quick. In 2023 it raised to $2.90 or $3.25 for a single fare, and it will rise to a base pay of $3 in 2026.
When put into perspective, the subway fare is still an absolute deal compared to owning a car, paying for insurance, and paying for gas. Still, New Yorkers have valid concerns about the efficiency and safety of riding the subway, and demand to see improvements alongside the increased fares.
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