By Caroline Lewis

Whether from the news, the subway carolers or your vocal office mate, you’ve probably heard: The MTA pushed through another fare hike last month, which will take effect in March. Highlights include raising the regular fare from $2.25 to $2.50 and charging a $1 surcharge for the purchase of a new MetroCard. The MTA plans to help set off its deficit with “moderate” biannual fare increases, which means another hike will roll around in 2015. Truly, they’re in a bad way. Before incurring an estimated $5 billion in damages from Hurricane Sandy, the MTA was already dealing with a huge deficit and had reached an impasse with MTA workers, who are still working without a contract.In other words, the MTA is that guy running around pantsless on the subway. Will New Yorkers finally look up? Some are quietly playing with their smartphones, others are shaking their heads in resignation, and still others are chuckling, “It’s all part of that subway charm!”

We spoke to people near the Union Square station to see what (if anything) they think of the new fare hike and how they think the subway could improve.

OTDT: What do you think of the upcoming MTA fare hike?
“I’m a longtime NYC resident. I grew up here, and I feel that people are really being pushed to the limits as far as finances are concerned, and an MTA hike is just outrageous. I mean, really I think it’s just mismanagement of money and finances and people really cannot afford to have to pay more.”—Sheri Chard

“Well, I grew up here, but I don’t live here anymore, but I heard about the fare hike and I think we shouldn’t have to pay more for what we get, for the service that’s provided here.”—Davida Scretchings

“Why, is it going up to $2.50? I’m sure the trains will be 25 cents better. And that’s sarcasm.”—Rufus X.

“I think it’s worth it. You can go a long way for $2.25 now. They had a lot of damage with the storm, it costs a lot to remedy it, and for me to pick up a quarter, I mean, it’s not that much.”—Pique Buford

“It’s going up 25 cents? I’m walking everywhere. But I guess $2.50 to get all these different places is worth it. People need to get to work and go to school, so obviously people are going to spend the money. There’s nothing we can really do about it. But it’s going to add up really quickly.”
—Emma Buford

“Oh yeah, I think it’s disgusting. Well, listen, I mean if you see the economic situation of not only our city, but also the United States—the economic situation is chaotic. I think raising taxes and the fares on trains and ferries is disgusting.”
—Germano Riviera

OTDT: What does the MTA need to improve?
“I feel that the services as far as the timeliness of the subways should be better. I’ve had so many issues where I can’t physically fit my body onto a subway because it’s so crowded during rush hour. And I live on Roosevelt Island, and the F train is just absurd with the crowdedness of the subways.”—Sheri Chard

“I feel that there should be more security in the subways.”—Davida Scretchings

“Infrastructure. So when [a storm] happens, it’s not as debilitating. We’re due to have storms, I’m assuming, in the next 10 years, and the subway’s very old. The infrastructure’s very antiquated. It’s like the gas lines. They break because they’re old and they’re worn and there’s no detecting when it’s going to happen. So we need to rebuild all over the city and in all of those areas, so if it costs me a quarter, I think we can all afford a quarter.”
—Pique Buford

“If you get a $20 MetroCard, they give you the added bonus [of $1.40], and so then you have a weird balance and you end up with an uneven amount. It’s just annoying because you have an insufficient fare, but it’s a significant amount of money.”—Emma Buford

“I think they should start thinking of trying to save a little bit of money for the people that don’t have it, particularly after Sandy. People got displaced, there’s no jobs—I think it’s terrible.”
—Germano Riviera

SILVER URGES OPENING SCHOOL FIELD TO PUBLIC
Last week, in an open letter to Department of Education Chancellor Dennis Walcott, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver asked for the Seward Park High School Field on the Lower East Side to be reopened to the public.
The DOE only recently restricted access for nonstudents to the four handball courts, three tennis courts, six basketball hoops and track. In the letter, Silver reminded Walcott that 10 years ago, he helped the school win a “Take the Field” grant. Silver noted the grant “provided for extensive renovations, turning it into a thriving recreational space that served our area so well.” Silver said local communities are suffering from a lack of open spaces that encourage physical exercise and prevent childhood obesity.
“We should be providing more opportunities for our children to engage in safe, healthy physical activities, not shutting down public access to our parks,” Silver said.

CRABS IN CHINATOWN
Wednesday morning, during rush hour, numerous crabs escaped from a bucket that fell on the road during a delivery to a local Chinatown market. Bystanders, shop workers and a deliveryman all blocked traffic on Lower Eldridge Street trying to catch the scurrying shellfish.
Bowery Boogie, the Lower East Side website, reported that about a dozen people armed with plastic bags gathered the crabs on the street. Whether any of these crabs made it to the dinner table or a store shelf remains unknown.

CHANGES TO METROCARDS
This month, the MTA has increased the timeframe in which an unlimited MetroCard can be swiped at the same turnstile in an effort to combat fraud.
Scammers are currently making a profit by buying monthly subway cards for $104 and then selling a single swipe for less than $2.50, the price of a single ride pass. Scammers often jam vending machines, which prevents passengers from purchasing their own tickets. The MTA claims these practices are costing millions of dollars each year.
The Daily News reported that the MTA has changed turnstiles at 28 stations where they found fraud to be especially high. By increasing the time between swipes from 18 minutes to up to 60 minutes, the MTA hopes scammers will have to buy extra MetroCards to rotate during waiting times. With the longer waiting periods, it will be harder for scammers to make a profit.

ANONYMOUS ONLINE POSTING PROPOSAL
Last week, the New York State Assembly and State Senate proposed a bill that would require all New York-based websites to “remove any comments posted on his or her website by an anonymous poster unless such anonymous poster agrees to attach his or her name to the post and confirms that his or her IP address, legal name and home address are accurate.”
State Sen. Thomas O’Mara, who is sponsoring the bill, said the legislation would help prevent cyberbullying. According to a National Crime Prevention Council survey, about 40 percent of teenagers have experienced some form of cyberbullying.
Assemblyman Jim Conte, a co-sponsor of the bill, said in an online statement that if passed, the bill would also prevent anonymous users from criticizing local businesses.
“The legislation will help cut down on the types of mean-spirited and baseless political attacks that add nothing to the real debate and merely seek to falsely tarnish the opponent’s reputation by using anonymity on the Web,” Conte said.
The legislation would require website administrators to remove any anonymous comments from their pages upon request. Users would not have to reveal their identity when making a complaint for removal.

There will be some good news for long-suffering bus riders: You will soon be able to use your cell or smart phone to tell how far your bus is from your stop in real time. A new “Bus Time” program goes Staten Island-wide in January 2012, and then around the city.

“Poetry in Motion,” the subway car ads featuring works from Shakespeare to Frost, will return from retirement. You may get stuck in a subway tunnel, but it will be a chance to catch up on Langston Hughes and Emily Dickinson.