The Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board on Wednesday voted to schedule public hearings on a fare increase that would take effect on Jan. 1, 2011.

The looming fare hikes have renewed calls for drivers to chip in their fare share.The hikes, up to 9.4 percent on Metro-North and up to 17 percent on monthly MetroCards for the bus and subway, are intended to raise the revenue collected in fares and tolls next year by 7.5 percent. The MTA's total shortfall is estimated to have grown to $900 since last fall, according to the Journal News.

Click here for a full rundown of the various fare hike options.

Although nothing is set in stone until the final MTA board vote in October, one thing appears to be certain, according to the New York Times: New York State and New York City are highly unlikely to bailout the transit agency, given their own fiscal constraints.

Along with the usual indignation over the higher fares, Wednesday's vote prompted another key discussion: the revival of a plan to spread the burden of higher costs to include car drivers. 

Although no one wants to pay higher fares, particularly in these tough economic times, NYLCV strongly believes that the health of the transit system is paramount. "New York's future depends on safe, reliable, efficienty and environmentally friendly mass transit," says NYLCV President Marcia Bystryn.