Big Apple subway and bus riders could be forced to pay an increased fare of $3 by next year – but Metropolitan Transportation Authority leaders shrugged off the rate hike as no big deal Wednesday.

The cash-strapped agency is set to squeeze commuters and drivers even more by Jan. 4, 2026 even as officials tried to downplay the coming price crunch with one official even insisting he would “not call this a hike.”

The current $2.90 for city subways and buses would cost another 10 cents – after the MTA last jacked up the price in the middle of 2023. Meanwhile, Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North riders would face a 4.4% increase for one-way, weekly and monthly tickets if the MTA board approves the new rates later this year.

“I would not call this a hike,” board member Neal Zuckerman said at a MTA board meeting where the price hikes were revealed.

“I think we’re raising it 4.4% for the first time in two and a half years and that’s pretty generous,” Zuckerman added. “This is a very gradual raise and I think very respectful of the inflation and affordability issues.”

Drivers, who already are dealing with congestion pricing fees, would also be walloped with toll increases for various bridges and tunnels around the tristate area. 

Tolls would jump from $6.94 to $7.46 on the RFK, Whitestone, Throgs Neck and Verrazzano bridges or going through the Queens-Midtown and Hugh Carey Tunnels.

The Henry Hudson Bridge toll would tick up about 25 cents up to $3.42, according to the MTA.

Congestion tolling would remain unchanged at $9 per day for drivers at peak hours.

MTA CEO Janno Lieber defended the planned increases and argued the transit agency’s desire to scoop up more cash wasn’t affecting affordability for New Yorkers.

“We have to remember what really is driving affordability issues in New York and it’s not transit,” he said during a Wednesday press conference. “Transit is one of the few things that makes New York affordable and we’re keeping it that way.”

Lieber then tried to compare the price of transit to that of housing in the Empire State, stating the price for public transportation has jumped just 16% since 2018 while housing has surged 68%.

“We are controlling these increases,” he said. “We’re doing them small, we’re doing them predictable and we’re telling everybody when they’re coming so they can plan.”

But Mayor Eric Adams and other New Yorkers didn’t share Lieber’s sentiment.

Adams called the current fare “already too high for many” and urged board members to reject the proposal.

“Proposing a fare hike without demonstrating meaningful improvements is offensive to hard-working New Yorkers, and that’s why I’m urging all board appointees to vote no on this proposal,” he said.

“We strongly oppose this fare increase and remain committed to fighting for a more affordable and equitable city.” 

Incoming Marymount Manhattan College freshman Alyssa Cruz, 20, called the possible increase “frustrating.”

“It’s annoying and people are just trying to get through the day,” she said as she waited at least 10 minutes for a bus to arrive on the Upper East Side.

“I think it’s kinda ridiculous if they’re not going to keep up with cleaning it,” she added. “It’s not fair.”

Long Island resident Melissa Miller, 49, called the price increase “crazy.”

“The way the subway is running now so much stuff is going on with the subways. I don’t think they should increase the fares,” she said, noting air conditioning isn’t always working on subways and buses, including the bus she used Wednesday to visit her mother in a Big Apple hospital.

“The cost of living is a lot. Food is going up, rent is going up,” Miller said. “10 cents is a lot of money.”

And Upper East Side local Jack also sounded off.

“Everything is getting raised. They keep raising this and that,” he said as he waited for a bus.

The MTA will host public hearings on the proposed price increase and take public comments via an online portal before a vote is taken in the fall.

The increase comes after the MTA said Monday it was on track to notch $500 million from congestion pricing so far this year – though the agency continues to struggle to slow fare evasion that costs it about $700 million yearly.

The agency’s future budgets plan for about a 4% rate increase every two years.

Lieber said the MTA is offering various discounted programs for riders while arguing straphangers are getting more reliable service.

Jessie Lazarus, the MTA deputy chief for commercial ventures, said at Wednesday’s board meeting that the new proposed prices are supposed to keep up with inflation.

The MTA “treats as gospel” its policy of “small stable and predictable fare and toll increases,” she said.