OMG! NOT AGAIN! METROCARDS COULD JUMP TO $2.60 A RIDE!

Monthly unlimited-ride MetroCards could soar past $100 and one-way subway fares could jump as high as $2.60 unless the city and state find new sources of funding for the MTA, an analysis out Tuesday finds.

The Drum Major Institute for Public Policy says dire economic projections could push bus and subway fares up by 15% or more next year unless lawmakers figure out a fix.

Transit officials had already planned on upping the cost of MetroCards by 7.5% - but that was before the MTA's finances cratered during the past three months due to declining tax revenues and state funding cuts.

The MTA now faces an operating budget gap of approximately $800 million. Its five-year construction plan is short about $10 billion.

To close the hole, the liberal think tank Drum Major Institute calls on city and state leaders to resurrect Mayor Bloomberg's proposal to charge drivers who drive into Manhattan below 86th St.

That plan died in the state Legislature last year - and lawmakers say it stands little chance of coming back.

Instead, state officials adopted a transit-funding package that included a payroll tax, a surcharge on taxi rides and increases in other driver-related fees.