There’s the pizza to subway fare ratio to consider. Usually the cost of a subway ride is about the same as a slice of pizza. When I lived in Ft. Greene a year ago, my neighborhood pizzeria, Not Ray’s, raised its prices to $2.25 (I remember when it was just $1.75 and you saved that quarter for laundry). I knew the fare hike was coming. And here it came: the base cost of a subway ride will be $2.50, effective May 31st.
I’m conflicted about whether to complain. Depending on where you take the subway, $2.50 is either a rational rate, or it’s a crime. The real part that I have trouble swallowing is the ballooning of the unlimited fare card to $103 per month. Yes, this is still really cheap when you compare the cost to driving a car (all that gas, maintenance, insurance, etc.), but it’s still a decent chunk of change. For the average twenty-something professional who takes home about $400 a week, it could be as much as 6 percent of that person’s income. Is 6 percent a good rate? Maybe. Discuss.