MTA
Top Categories
Road Pricing Still the Big Missing Piece in MTA Funding Puzzle
It's been 20 months since the state legislature passed an MTA funding package with a conspicuous missing piece. In early 2009, the transit agency was reeling from the recession, and straphangers were about to get walloped by deep service cuts and a 23 percent fare hike. Albany responded by enacting just a partial fix: a regional payroll tax and a smattering of new fees on taxis and car rentals. Tolls on the East and Harlem River bridges were supposed to be part of the deal -- getting car commuters who benefit from the congestion-busting effect of transit to contribute their fair share. But the State Senate insisted on preserving the free ride for motorists.
December 6, 2010
Ravitch: Tolls on Every Major Road Needed, Just to Keep Transpo Afloat
Lieutenant Governor Richard Ravitch opens his new report on transportation funding in his characteristically blunt fashion:
November 18, 2010
Can Andrew Cuomo Stop Albany From Raiding Transit Again?
Yesterday, City Council transportation committee chair Jimmy Vacca and leading transportation advocates sent a letter to New York state's current leadership urging them not to raid the MTA's dedicated funds to close an impending $315 million budget deficit.
November 9, 2010
Gene Russianoff on What to Look for From Governor-Elect Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Cuomo won his election yesterday by an enormous margin, racking up 62 percent of the vote. When he takes office, he will be the most powerful man in New York state politics.
November 3, 2010
Andrew Cuomo’s Transit Plan: Worse Than Nothing?
With November 2 just 11 days away, it's probably time to concede that Andrew Cuomo won't offer any constructive ideas for solving the state's transit funding crisis before election day. After avoiding taking any stands while outlining his infrastructure plan, Cuomo happily joined in the gubernatorial debate's MTA-bashfest, trotting out the old and discredited "two sets of books" line. Yesterday, the former HUD Secretary released his "urban agenda," in which the only item on transit calls, banally, for limiting service cuts if possible.
October 22, 2010
Last Night’s Gov Debate: Cuomo Piles on in MTA Bash-a-Thon
Try this little experiment. Click over to the video of last night's seven-candidate gubernatorial debate. Start at the 55:30 mark, then close your eyes and listen to seven solid minutes of MTA bashing. Which of those candidates is the presumptive governor-in-waiting with a 35-point lead in the latest poll and, presumably, some political leeway to tell voters the truth about what's happening to their transit system?
October 19, 2010
Albany Grabs Another $16.7 Million From MTA
Last week, the MTA announced it lost another $16.7 million to an Albany raid [PDF]. Because of lower-than-expected federal assistance for Medicaid, Albany instituted an across-the-board budget sweep of 1.1 percent, cutting state spending and also siphoning off theoretically separate revenue streams dedicated to specific programs and agencies, like the MTA. It's a reminder that the state's budget crisis is dragging the MTA and New York City transit riders down with it.
October 5, 2010
New York Transportation Officials: We’re Broke
The state's top transportation officials delivered some tough news to the construction industry Friday: Public agencies are so cash-strapped they don't even have enough money to maintain existing infrastructure.
September 27, 2010
Rider Anger Grazes Incumbent Pols at Fare Hike Hearing
Outside Cooper Union yesterday evening, the sidewalks were packed with news cameras, security squads, political campaigners and activists pressing passersby with their plans for the MTA. Inside, the transit authority held the first of ten mandated public hearings on its proposed fare and toll hikes. Though attendance was sparse, the citizens who lined up to speak in all but unanimous opposition to the fare hike spared no venom for whichever target they chose, the MTA or the state government.
September 14, 2010
DMI to Gov Candidates: New Yorkers Need to Know Your Transit Platforms
John Petro and Dan Morris at the Drum Major Institute have a great op-ed in the Albany Times-Union today, asking the candidates for governor how they plan to deal with New York's transit funding crisis. With the largest MTA service cut in a generation barely behind us, the third fare hike in three years looming in January, a $9 billion hole in the agency's five-year capital plan, and a huge pile of debt that threatens to make future fare hikes steep and painful, the next governor needs to build support for bold funding solutions. Incremental steps won't cut it.
August 26, 2010