About 8 years ago there were a few house ads in the cars that were effectively gaslighting riders. It was one of the craziest things I'd ever seen as a consumer -- borderline antagonistic. The agency, and the workers to some extent, can be pugilistic when criticized.
The MTA is comparing single-ride fares with "effective" cost per ride of a then-$81 30 day pass, which they amortize over around 70 rides, which is a bit high for the average person in my experience (though not ridiculous).
It might be more accurate to compare the single-ride fare then with the single-ride fare at the time the photo was taken, which was either $2.00 or $2.25 (the price changed in 2009, I think).
I surprised that they don't have a commuter ticket system. In my city the commuter ticket price is calculated to be somewhat cheaper than return fare*20 as well as being a tax deductible.
The obvious part of the lie to me is that they would raise fares to increase revenue, and claim that because of the 30-day and 7-day discounts you wouldn't be paying any more.
Huh? How are you going to increase revenue if no one is paying more.
