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Now, that the MTA's 2009 budget gap has quadrupled from $300 million to $1.2 billion, the agency is trying to figure out what to do next to close the gap. Regarding likely service cuts, fare hikes and possible layoffs, MTA CEO Elliott Sander said, "The word 'Draconian' is not inappropriate."
The Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA's William Henderon said, "One of the scary things is if you look at how much a 1 percent increase raises, and then look at the total that needs to be raised." (A 1% fare hike would be about an extra $50 million.) WCBS 2 reports that "If the gap is closed only from the fare box straphangers and commuters could face a hike of something like 28 percent," so that's why additional revenue streams, like tolls for currently free East River crossings, are being considered.
There were no details of what may be cut, but the Daily News reports that "bus riders - particularly on express routes - would likely see the biggest cuts." Also, "Subway riders would see fewer trains, especially on lines with parallel service, such as the Broadway line in Manhattan, where N, R and W trains run." And Richard Ravitch, who heads the commission on how the MTA can increase revenue, said the MTA's situation is very, very serious. It will have a very painful effect on the riders of this system in many respects. On the other hand, there will be a lot of pain in any solution as well."
On the Brian Lehrer Show, City Councilman John Liu (chair of the Council's transportation committee) and NY1's Josh Robin discussed the MTA's plight.
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If the poor pay $2 to ride into Manhattan, so should the middle class and the rich.
Toll the E.R. bridges.
"There's no such thing as a free lunch." Ronald Reagan said that.
"Ass, gas, or grass - nobody rides for free." Sonny Barger said that.
Is it possible that the MTA would switch to a "pay for distance" program like London has? A plan where a rider has to pay more when they cross a different zone?
amazing, these guys can't handle their budgets so everyone else has to pay. is it me, but shouldn't someone lose their job over at the mta?
#1- So that way traffic gets even worse than it already is, hence fucking EVERYBODY over even more?
Tax the bridges so more people ride the subway, right? Aren't the subways crowded already? What d'ya think is going to happen?
I honestly don't see how throwing more money at the problem is going to fix anything when they don't even seem to be willing to fix much, if at all. How is it the MTA is hemorrhaging this kind of money year after year?
MTA employees shouldn't stand for this. They should STRIKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fuckers.
is it possible that the upper ranks of that joint take some pay cuts? i mean they asked for money when they had a surplus! they have ZERO creativity when it comes to figuring out other revenue streams, except to charge us more and more.
When David Patterson spoke of EVERYONE sacrificing, um, I think the MTA should be doing the a lot of that.
Solution:
-Fare zones like London (the LIRR ticket machines do this already)
-pick one night every other week (preferably Sunday?) to shut the whole system down for a few hours to do work that normally is dragged out over months, thus saving the MTA a boatload in overtime for those contractors.
-And of course, much like a cold soup, skim the FAT off the top.
Now, granted I am a Gothamist commenter that works in a field entirely different from transit, but c'mon, can't these knuckleheads at least try and think creatively?
Good thing I have a bike.
I'd pick the crowded subway or walking over riding a bike anyday.....
Every time I see one of those "See Something Say Something" advertisements it occurs to me that there must be budget items that could be cut without affecting service.
is it possible that the upper ranks of that joint take some pay cuts?
How much impact do you think that will make in closing a $1.2 billion deficit? If the 1000 highest paid MTA employees took a $10K cut they would close the budget gap by less than a percent.
@ GothamPC and Wesley
The thing about fare zones is that they would effectively act as a regressive transportation tax on the poor. Where does everyone work? Midtown. Who lives near Midtown? The relatively rich. Who lives further away from Midtown? The relatively poor. With fare zone pricing, the delivery guy who has to trek in from the Bronx ends up paying more to get to work than the businessman who lives ten blocks from his office.
They should just raise the fare, it's still cheap as hell compared to anything else(LIRR/Driving). A monthly ticket would go from $81 to $103, if $22 would break your bank, you have bigger problems than the MTA.
What company didn't fuck up there budgets this year? No one saw our generations great depression coming this hard and fast.
commuter tax FTW! if you work in manhatten. you pay NYC tax. that would be a boom of cash probably.
The MTA must be the most inept, corrupt, idiotic transit agency in the world. The only ideas they have for closing the budget gap are trying to raise tolls on bridges they don't own (the city does), or raise passneger fares which will be only a drop in the bucket. With 678 miles of train tracks and the largest owner of real estate in the 5 boroughs one would think at least one of these imbecilies would come up with some other way of raising additional revenue.
Another reason to keep building, and patrol and maintain, the existing bike lanes in NYC, as well as put in more bicycle racks.
Give New Yorkers another option besides cars and subways.
@jh4285
Hmm... I didn't think of that... Now you see why I am not in transit! hehe.
MTA leadership NEEDS to be INVESTIGATED!
Write your rep.
How can they so consistently screw up?
shaen, chimera-
you're both right! I quite enjoy taking my bike on the train. In fact, once the service cuts begin i'm sure i'll have to start taking my bike on the train to work every day just in case i feel like biking home and not standing in a crowded car (with my bike).
OH, and what is stopping them from doing the all over adds on the trains? Are people really that in love with looking at nothing?
I have a question: if they do cut service, do they still have to pay the workers? Don't they have minimum hours requirements in their union contract?
"Fare zones like London (the LIRR ticket machines do this already)"
All the LIRR ticket machines do is print a ticket for the appropriate rate for whatever zones you're crossing. That system then only works because there are collectors on every train checking, marking, and collecting tickets as zones are passed. How would that work in the subway?
@jayclay: you make people swipe their cards on the way out. if they don't have credit on the card for the distance traveled, the turnstile doesn't open and the MTA people shake you down.
Grrrroooaannn.
Maybe they shouldn't pay un helpful toll booth attendants and the people that Clean the subway (or don't)100,000 a yr so that they can retire at 55 i have 2 collage degrees and i don't make that much and i definitely won't be retiring at 55
Transporters. We need transporters.
No one's raising any fares before the election. Afterward, buckle up.
Cut all the new subway cars. Cut the contractors. If you are going to have 5 or 10 or 15 year projects, hire in-house. Cut the consultants who make more than lawyers. Cut the LIRR disability and "show up to work, clock in then immediately clock out, and you got a day's pay". Cut the pointless cosmetic station rehabs. Cut the NYPD standing around searching bags during rush hour (all cops in the subway who aren't there because a specific crime happened (assault/murder/stabbing/robbery) are paid hourly by the MTA). Kill the failed "FDNY and NYPD Radios underground" project and just give dual mode radios the next radio replacement time. Kill the multi million/billion dollar robo-trains with robo signalling project, change policy to allow manual keybys again for more capacity, if you have some budget, install higher speed switches rather than replace every last signal, kill the new hybrid buses, old ones still run, stop buying the Greyhound busses for the Express busses that can't be used for anything else, get normal buses with normal seats but padded (think local ex-Queens Surface that had padded seats, but not airplane seats). I wonder how much goes towards pensions. Fire some of the car cleaners and make the other ones work faster, or get a contractor (yes) who will hire mexicans that know how to move their ass and not lean on garbage cans and chit chat all day with other cleaners while dirty trains come in and go out. Have drivers report to East Side Access to be manual labor from 10AM to 4PM rather than pay them 1/2 time. Most MTA drivers get part time jobs from 10AM to 4PM. So MTA 1/2 hourly wage+part time job=6 figure salary. Shit, have drivers go and clean subway cars while they aren't driving trains. And this post is a $20K consultation contract too.
The MTA needs to open the books to the public. The REAL books. It would be amazing to see how many payouts and greased palms there are bleeding an amazingly corrupt 'government agency', that happens to be run like a piss poor business.
#27: The mayor has very little influence over the fare, so I'm not sure the election will come into play.
Don't they realize that we NEED the trains??!
How about a federal bailout? Isn't that what all the kids are doing these days?
How about making the subway free? With one stroke you reduce congestion in the city. You get cleaner air. Tax commuters and visitors (Hotels/Airports) to pay for it. Get a station clerk in every stop, make him responsible for cleaning station, keeping security. Open the books get rid of those thieves running the MTA. Progress people! It's within your reach!
Holy crap Darius, you realise what the hotel tax is already? NYC has some of the most overpriced hotels in the world and it already detracts from quite a few visitors.
Unfortunately the station attendants are the problem in a lot of the cases. The company needs to move towards long term automation. More automated trains are the key in the long-run. Automated trains (a la Paris or Moscow) where if you try to hold the door you get your fingers taken off are the key to prompter train service as well with fewer slowdowns to selfish pricks trying to jump on the train when its ready to pull out. Moscow trains come every 2 minutes without fail. The stations are spotless and it costs a little over a buck.
Finally, a pay cut for employees might be in order as well. If they threaten to strike, fire them and have an accelerated training program ready to take up the slack. People will work for 5-10% less than what they are making now (which in a lot of the cases is getting overpaid. Cut executive pay by a larger margin than that. A fare hike is not in order...I would be willing to pay London or Washington prices for the subway if we were getting that level of service but we are not. We are getting a rat-infested pee hole that I am embarrassed for foreigners to see. It's time to shake down the MTA..not the other way around.
I wish they'd let yellow cabbies off the East River toll hook when we have no passenger aboard. We serve the city. Give us a break. But fee the fudge out of everyone else.