MTA brass are considering a fare hike as early as this year as they struggle to fill a $750 million budget gap, The Post has learned.

Increasing the cost of a ride on subways, buses and commuter rails in 2010 is just one option out of many that officials have put on the table to overcome the staggering deficit, management sources said.

“I think there is a set of options. And the fare is one of those as we try to get to the bottom line,” a board member said.

“In view of the reaction we got to the service reductions we have out there, I think that asking most board members if they’d rather see more service cuts or a fare increase, I think, at the moment, many would pick a fare increase.”

Last week, the MTA held a series of public hearings on a slew of service cuts and the elimination of free student MetroCards, which would save about $383 million.

That leaves an additional $378 million gap that has to be closed this year, because the state cut aid to the MTA, took money from its tax revenues, and miscalculated how much the agency would get in payroll tax revenues.

A 7 percent fare increase is already scheduled for 2011, and The Post reported last month that it could be higher.

The MTA said in a statement that it intends to stick to that 2011 schedule.

“Our position has not changed. It remains our intention to raise the fare in 2011 as agreed upon last year,” said spokesman Jeremy Soffin.

But officials confirmed that MTA number crunchers would look at an increased fare as a possible 2010 revenue stream.

MTA chief executive Jay Walder has also said he’s looking at internal belt-tightening and other ways to save costs.

He recently announced layoffs of 1,000 employees, both union and nonunion.

Bill Henderson, chief of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee, speculated that a 2010 fare hike could be the acceleration of the 2011 increase.

Also, he said, if the MTA board were to vote on a hike at its March meeting and then hold public hearings, it could go into effect “right during state election season.”

The MTA gets about $50 million in revenue for every percentage point it raises the fare.

Source: NY Post