SAY GOODBYE TO THE $2 FARE! A RIDE NOW COST $2.25!

Say goodbye to the $2 subway and bus ride.

The 2009 fare hikes go into effect Sunday with the price of a single train ride or one-way bus trip rising 25 cents to $2.25.

As bad as the hike is to cash-strapped straphangers, it could have been worse - much worse.

Before the state approved a bailout last month boosting mass transit subsidies, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority considered a $3 base fare, a monthly MetroCard costing more than $100 and a slew of service cuts such as axing dozens of bus routes.

The state-approved financial plan includes a new payroll tax paid by employers in the MTA's 12-county region, and higher vehicle registration and parking fees. Fares and tolls are rising about 10%.

"It would have been much worse - with double the fare hike, coupled with severe service cuts - if the state Legislature had not passed an MTA bailout, which spread transit costs among riders, motorists and business," said Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign.

The funds are needed to help plug massive budget gaps partly caused by sinking revenues and soaring expenses during the recession, officials have said.

The hikes on the unlimited-ride MetroCards are:

- 1-day: $8.25 from $7.50.

- 7-day: $27 from $25.

- 14-day: $51.50 from $47.

- 30-day: $89 from $81.

Riders using the pay-per-ride MetroCards still get a 15% bonus, but have to put at least $8 on the card.

The average price of a ride with the pay-per-ride bonus increases from $1.74 to $1.96, according to the MTA.

The price of a single ride on an express bus goes up to $5.50 from $5 and a 7-day express bus pass will increase to $45 from $41.

Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad fares went up June 17. Bridge and tunnel tolls go up July 12.

The MTA raised fares last year, a rare back-to-back series of hikes.

Without the state funding package, riders were looking at the possibility of an unprecedented three-peat jump in fares with another hike next year.

The agency releases its preliminary 2010 budget next month.

It will not include fare hikes, but 1.5% in expense cuts as called for in previous financial plans.