The MTA is considering boosting the base transit fare to as much as $3 – too high a price to pay when one in four low-income New Yorkers already can’t afford to take a ride on city buses and subways, the Community Service Society argues.

Jeff Maclin, a CSS spokesman, called on the city to help provide transit subsidies for the neediest New Yorkers. “We’re asking the city to fund it out of its municipal budget,” he said.

The MTA is weighing two proposal: One would raise the base fare to $3, though riders would get an increased MetroCard bonus. Under the second proposal, the fare would remain $2.75, but the bonus would decrease. Meanwhile, the cost of a monthly pass would increase from $116 to $121.

Whatever the fare hike, it would go into effect in March.