Thanks Greg for sending this in!

The MTA unveiled its 2009 budget at a board meeting Thursday in Midtown.

The so-called “Doomsday Budget” will hit riders with a steep fare hike and major service cuts.

Including:

Discontinuing overnight service on the B31. Ouch!

• Increase express bus fares to $7.50 from $5.
• Raise the Access-A-Ride fare to make it twice the subway base fare – from $2 to $4, based on current prices.
• Eliminate the station customer assistants, who help riders outside toll booths. This would cut 596 positions.
• Close 29 staffed booths in stations that have more than one full-time booth. Reduce staffing to part-time in 13 additional booths.
• Impose tighter controls on E-ZPass account balances on MTA bridges and tunnels. That will result in more drivers turned away at toll gates and longer lines.