You Think It's Expensive Here to Ride?

I'm spending part of today with my family in Blawenburg NJ, the town and the house where I grew up. Last night it was nice to see two of my sisters and other relatives gathered around a huge table. I've got that familiar pre-trip feeling, trying to make sure I don't forget something important.

On the bus back from New York, I read the New York Post, and found a story that had European tourists gushing about how much they like the city's subways. A fare hike is coming that will increase the cost of multi-ride cards but leave the tourist's one-time rides at $2. "We're happy with the subway here," said Italian tourists Ilaria Turi and her sister, "They're better than the ones in Rome."

Another visitor updated the cost of such a trip in Belfast. That would be $5 for a single trip. In London, said another traveler, Daniel Feaster, 25, the cost would be $8. In Paris another traveler said the cost of a ride is $2.20.

For locals who want to save a bit, the MTA gives out a 15 percent discount if they spend more than $7 on a multi-ride metro card. The paper congratulated Mayor Mike for standing up to the 'populist poseurs in the media and demagogues in City Hall by passing a rate hike that is fair--and still a better deal than most overseas city's fares.