With the MTA already considering fare hikes to reduce its deficit, officials are grappling with news that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to withhold $100 million they’d counted on to build transit projects in the nation’s most-congested area.

The governor’s proposed $143 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year would divert about $1.1 billion statewide from public transit to other programs – a decision that could force the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority to consider bonds, toll roads, tax hikes and other fundraising alternatives, officials said.

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