Rising Prices Upend NYC’s “Pizza-Subway Principle”

Bloomberg News reports:

The “pizza principle,” a mainstay of New York economics for more than four decades, states that a slice of cheese pizza will always be the same price as a subway ride.

The rule has largely held true since first conjectured in the New York Times in 1980, with any increase in pizza prices tending to predict a matching hike in public-transit fares. Not anymore.

Prices for plain slices are soaring above $3 throughout the city along with commodity and labor costs. With the Metropolitan Transportation Authority freezing fares at $2.75, the gap between the price of riding downtown and satisfying late-night hunger pangs is growing quickly.

Read the full article.

A decades-old New York economics principle may be over: the average plain slice now costs more than a subway fare. My latest for @citylab with (incredible) graphics by @mariepastora and @madcampb:https://t.co/qYMuavRWJW

— Amelia Pollard (@ameliajpollard) April 1, 2022