NEW YORK – Riders on Metro-North Railroad trains may be paying 7.6 percent to 9.4 percent more to ride the rails as of January 1, 2011 to help the MTA stave off a $900 million cash shortfall, if the latest round of fare hikes gets final approval. 

Over all, the New York City transportation system needs to raise its fare revenue by 7.5 percent.

Most discounts for tickets purchased via the Mail & Ride and WebTicket programs would be eliminated.

To keep the fare increase down as much as possible, MTA is proposing to reduce ticket validity periods with a one-way ticket being valid for only seven days, down from the current six months.

On top of the fare hikes, parking at Metro-North stations would increase anywhere from 92 cents to $9.75 per month, depending on term of the ticket.

Hearings will be held in September, with a final vote on the budget and fare hikes in October.