You can tell a lot about a city from its subway system. Tokyo's is high-tech and overcrowded, London's is clean, closes early, and is obnoxiously expensive for tourists, and LA's is, well, mostly for show. New York's, with which most Columbia students should be intimately acquainted, is dirty, constantly under construction, never closes, and boasts passengers diverse enough to compose a meeting of the UN General Assembly. It makes sense, then, that in the current city budget crisis, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has announced that it has a $1.2 billion deficit in its 2009 budget. In order to make up for this lack of funds, the organization has proposed a "23 percent increase in fare and toll revenues and deep service cuts." Translated to the cost of MetroCards, the plan would bring single ride prices up to $2.50 from $2.00, and 30-day MetroCard prices to $104 from $81. The changes would take effect starting this June. While the fare increases would be unfortunate and certainly problematic for regular riders, most alarming are the service cuts. According to the New York Times, the cuts would include eliminating the W and Z subway lines, closing five N train stations in Lower Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m., and doing away with off-peak service on several other lines. Two dozen New York City Transit bus routes would be cut, as would nighttime and weekend service on certain routes. The full list of cuts to service fills more than 200 pages. Granted, Columbia's beloved 1 train stands to fair pretty well under the proposal (though it would probably suffer 30 minute waits on late night service—up from 20 minutes). Still, on those rare occasions when we venture beyond the confines of the West Side, we will notice the changes. After all, who else is traveling to Brooklyn after 11 p.m.? The bottom line is that the idea of paying more for decreased service is not only absurd, but makes little sense in the long-term. As personnel are cut and booths are shuttered, the only natural result is deterioration of the system and decrease in ridership. This in turn would result in further budget issues until the MTA would once again need to be rescued. Luckily, it would appear that most of the powers that be agree with that sentiment. Richard Ravitch, a former chairman of the MTA, was asked by Gov. David Paterson in April to head a commission in charge of finding a solution to the organization's looming budget crisis. Early this December, Ravitch came out with an alternative rescue plan that is now backed by both Mayor Bloomberg and Paterson. Under his proposal, there would be a new "mobility tax" (33 cents for every $100) on payrolls in the twelve counties that receive service from the MTA, new tolls on the previously free East River and Harlem River bridges, a much smaller increase in fares and tolls that would automatically adjust every two years for inflation, improvements in bus service, and much fewer reductions in subway service. The plan has naturally been met with opposition—particularly in the counties outside of New York City that use less MTA service—but it is by far the superior option. It stands to bring in an extra $2.1 billion in revenue every year, which would not only help solve the current budget issues, but could also be used to finance the borrowing of capital for future improvements to infrastructure. Indeed, if the MTA is to remain a viable organization going forward it should not only engage in the building of new lines (i.e. the 2nd Avenue subway), but should also consider upgrading old ones. Borrowed capital could be used to increase security, cleanliness, and most importantly, train service. As the subway becomes more efficient it would attract more riders and generate more revenue. It could become a place that reflects New York as we want it to be, not as it is. In 2008, the New York state legislature failed to pass Mayor Bloomberg's proposed congestion pricing, which would have charged drivers $8 for bringing cars into Manhattan south of 60th street. The plan was intended to bail out the ailing MTA and reduce pollution produced by vehicles. As Ravitch's plan heads to the state legislature in the coming months, let us hope that they do not make the same mistake twice.