MTA board members approved a whopping fare hike this morning with a 12 to 2 vote — sending the monthly MetroCard to $104 from $89 and increasing the single ride from $2.25 to $2.50 starting Dec. 30.

The hike is the third in three years and comes as the MTA made massive service cuts this past June.

MTA chief Jay Walder said the 2009 Albany bailout of the MTA — which demanded the 2011 hikes in return for billions of dollars in tax revenues — is actually $2.5 billion short, and that the state agency needs the revenues.

“I would certainly accept that some of these actions are painful for customers,” Walder said, adding that Albany “didn’t keep up their end of the deal.”

He added that he nabbed $525 million in cost savings and layoffs for 2011, which will jump to about $750 million in the out years.

The hike will also include reducing the bonus on the pay-per-ride cards from 15 to seven percent, and increase the amount riders need to shell out for that bonus by $2.

Also, the one- and 14- day unlimited MetroCards will be eliminated, a $1 surcharge will be applied every time a rider doesn’t refill an old MetroCard, and commuter railroad fares will increase by as much as 11 percent.

Also, the MTA is undecided on how to increase tolls at bridges and tunnels.

On Oct. 27, the board will choose to increase cash tolls by 25 to 50 cents and increase E-ZPass tolls by 10 percent, or it will choose not to increase the fee for E-ZPass users and instead hike cash tolls by $1 to $2, depending on the crossing.

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(Read More: NY Post)