Results tagged “mtabailoutplan”

Add Mayor Bloomberg to the group of folks who doubt that the 50-cent taxi surcharge—part of the State Legislature's plan to bailout the MTA—will actually work. The surcharge, expected to raise $85 million/year, has drawn some critics who question whether the taxi owners will actually be able to collect the money and whether it will be enforced—of course the Legislature didn't consider the logistics of it all! The Mayor said yesterday, "I don't know how you're going to do that because you're going to depend on these people to pay. That's not likely." The Post points out this is not so different from his attitude in April, "They could charge $1 every time you take a shower. Who knows?. I don't know how they collect it." Taxi drivers says the surcharge will prompt passengers to tip less (some passengers confirm that much) while one passenger said, "They're raising all the prices and we don't know where it's going, who's taking it, and if it's actually improving anything." The TLC says it is speaking with the State Department of Finance this week to discuss the surcharge.

The new plan to bailout the MTA relies mostly on a payroll tax in 12 counties, but one of the significant components is a 50-cent taxi dropoff surcharge. It's estimated that it would raise $85 million, but critics of the plan are wondering how it's going to work. According to NY1, "Most drivers pay a fee to lease the taxi from a garage, but then, aside from paying for gas, all the money they make goes directly into their pocket...Industry representatives say the new surcharge may be virtually unenforceable because it puts taxi owners in charge of collecting it." The Committee for Taxi Safety's David Pollack explains, "There are 13,000 some-odd taxi medallion owners. A lot of them lease to my members. So my members are responsible. Cabs have multiple drivers, it's a bookkeeping nightmare." The state says cab owners will have to submit the collections on a quarterly basis; the surcharge is supposed to be in effect by November.

With the ink finally beginning to dry on the MTA bailout deal, some questions are being raised on how the Democrats in the State Senate will be able to get legislation passed from this point on without the painful process that went along with the transit bill negotiations. The bailout saw factions within Democratic senators effectively kill East River tolls (the appropriately titled "Three Amigos") and receive kickbacks for the payroll tax (the desperately needing a publicist "Long Island Two"). The Times points out that the Senate has had to force legislation like overturning the Rockefeller drug laws into the state budget rather than get picked apart as a stand-alone bill. Could it be time for Smith to start sitting down with and courting votes from Republicans rather than relying on these party-line affairs? One senator told the paper, “We can either do 32 out of 32, and always fight for the last two or three votes. Or we can do 32 out of 62, and get a lot more done.” It's also worth noting that two of the Dems' 32 are currently facing felony charges.

This morning, the MTA board met and passed Albany's proposed fare hikes and toll increases. Commuter rail fares will begin to increase on June 17; fares on subways and buses will change on June 28; bridge and tunnel tolls will increase on July 12. Fares are rising an average of 10%.

The MTA board will be meeting today to discuss the State Legislature-approved $2.26 billion bailout plan that provides some relief to the agency while raising fares 10% for commuters (this year, plus additional fare hikes in 2011 and 2013) and imposing a payroll tax for employers in 12 counties. On the upside, there are no major service cuts. During this meeting, the board is expected to reduce the doomsday fare hikes and service cuts it approved in March (we expect the Post to keep tabs on whether Nancy "I'm dating Macca" Shevell attends). The other big news is MTA CEO Lee Sander's resignation. Sander told WCBS 2, "I think it's fair to say I'm leaving because the governor wants me to. It's his prerogative choose who he wants to be chair and CEO of the MTA and I've made it clear that it's his choice... I would prefer to stay. For me, it was a dream job. I am very proud of the progress we had made in the two and a half years."