MTA's "Doomsday" Service Cuts Are Coming Back

from beigeinside's Flickr

Here we go again. As mentioned yesterday, the cash-strapped Metropolitan Transportation Authority is looking for a way to cut costs — meaning that just about all of the extensive service cuts that were approved and then rescinded last year are on the table again.

An MTA source told NY1 that the agency might eliminate the W and Z trains completely, shorten the G and M lines, schedule longer gaps between trains at midday, decrease nighttime service, and shutter four stations after dark. Aboveground, the agency would cut 25 bus lines, nix weekend service on 41 routes, and eliminate weekday service another 21 routes.

The Times reports that, 6,000 nonunion MTA employees would have their salaries cut by 10 percent, according to new chairman Jay Walder — whose $350,000-salary would also be cut. The pay cuts, which could take effect in April, would be implemented through furloughs or paycheck lags in which parts of workers' salaries would be deferred for months or even years. And the Daily News notes that the agency might abolish a program that allows students who live far from their schools to commute using free Metrocards. The MTA is considering charging some 550,000 students half-price fares next year, and full fares starting in 2011. Currently, the city and state cover a bit more than half the cost of the student Metrocards, forcing the agency to pay about $70 million per year for the free service.

The monetary woes come after the agency's new payroll tax fell short of its expected goal by about 20 percent — leaving the MTA with a $200 million budget gap. Add that to the millions of state transit funding that the legislature just eliminated, and the agency is looking at a shortfall of about $340 million. The agency has promised it won't raise fares next year, though it is planning to increase them by 7.5 percent in 2011 and 2013. The MTA is expected to release a full list of proposed cuts on Monday.

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By Ben Muessig in News on December 12, 2009 2:29 PM

Comments [rss]

Darrell

Our public school system depends on those metrocards for students, especially when you get into the high school age and schools become sparse and widespread. Basically the way that this school system was designed, it was assumed that students could always use public transportation, hence why whenever the MTA holds a strike the system shuts down. Should the MTA actually remove student metrocard systems (I doubt they actually are, more likely some executive is just saying that for shock value so that Albany will give them more money) our public school system will fail, so one way or another, that service will stay in place. The question is which agency would take on that burden, too bad all of them are heavily in debt.

gothamguy

So I am going to get a refund of the payroll tax I paid, right?

nivek

Can we please have private takeover by an Asian firm? One that understands the need for effective, efficient, and non-invasive public transport?

LB

blah blah blahh !Does it really matter ? If the fares gonna go up then that's it !Fuck it and fuck the MTA !!!!

nivek

The fares are too low.

Snoopy

One other thing. Why do students need to travel half way across the city to attend another shitty school when they already have a shitty school in their own neighborhood. A good example is Chelsea Vocational down in west Soho. I don't know of anyone in the area that sends their kids to that pre Rikers Island School. Meanwhile the local taxpayers are crying for a school to send their elementary and intermediate age children to a school that is not miles away.

Snoopy

"MTA's "Doomsday" Service Cuts Are Coming Back" Well it's about time. With all those bike lanes and other Bloomfart ideas it's about time the MTA starts making money.

Splicer

This pissing-match between the state and the MTA was tiresome 30 years ago. If neither side gives a damn about the citizens who need these services then "doomsday" has come and gone long ago.

seth matthew

Stopping student MetroCards is the wrong idea. Kids in this city's public schools have enough barriers to their success- don't make $720 a year of MetroCards another.

Spirit of 76

I honestly don't understand it. What does it cost to let students ride to and from school? In the pre-Metrocard age, we used to have subway passes that gave us free travel for an entire semester, although some kids would misuse them for extra trips after school. But with Metrocards, it's easy to limit kids to two trips per day.

Malcolm Tucker

Well the MTA are clearly twats, and the state are cunts. And we're dumb fucks for tolerating both of them

newport27

when you have jews in public management or leadersihp, money mysteriously disappears

ohhleary

Bring on the barrage of idiots blaming the MTA for a problem that the state is completely to blame for.

felixthecat2

Albany and City Hall slashed student travel funding in the mid-1990s to a combined $90 million a year. Despite rising costs, the state and city contribution has stayed the same since 1995 City is too blame as well. Why hasn't our financial genius Bloomberg done anything???