After approving far-reaching transit cuts and leaving open the possibility for additional service reductions, MTA board members are urging the transit agency to use stimulus money and capital funds to balance the budget. "These are desperate times and stimulus money is intended to be used for situations like this," said board member Andrew Albert. "It's not a trend." more ›

The far-reaching MTA service cuts approved yesterday are just the tip of the iceberg, according to Mayor Bloomberg. Reducing service, eliminating the W and V trains, and cutting dozens of bus routes will help the MTA close about half of its $750 million budget shortfall—meaning the agency will need to make $400 million of additional cuts by the end of the year. "This is just the beginning," Bloomberg told the Post. "The next round I would think would be much worse ... So save your anger for the next round. Just say thank you that it isn't any worse with this one." more ›

This shouldn't come as much of a surprise. The MTA board voted 11-2 to approve far-reaching service cuts that will eliminate the W and V trains and cut more than 30 bus lines in an attempt to plug a revenue shortfall of $750 million. Despite some alterations to the planned cuts drafted after a series of contentious public hearings, the service reductions closely mirror those proposed last year. more ›

Despite promising to not raise fares until next year, MTA board members are considering increasing the cost of MetroCards in an attempt to balance a budget that will still come up short by $378 million even after service cuts. "In view of the reaction we got to the service reductions we have out there, I think that asking most board members if they'd rather see more service cuts or a fare increase, I think, at the moment, many would pick a fare increase," said one board member. more ›

With the MTA facing a $400 million budget gap—even if it implements "Doomsday" service cuts and a 7.5 percent fare hike—Mayor Bloomberg warned straphangers yesterday that commuting will likely become more tedious, more expensive, or both. According to the Post, the Mayor said state legislators must "come up with some ways to fund the MTA, or the MTA is either going to have to raise rates dramatically or cut back service dramatically—or, what's more likely, some combination of the two," more ›

Thanks to plummeting tax revenues, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is expected to face a $400 million budget shortfall—even if it implements drastic service cuts that would terminate bus lines and subway routes and nix free Metrocards for students. So what, if anything, could be worse than the already-proposed "Doomsday" cuts? more ›

While Jay Walder was confirmed as the MTA's new CEO and chairman last week, his big-time pay—$350,000/year, not to mention up to $850,000 in severance and housing and retirement— is an issue with Mayor Bloomberg. His pay package needs to approved by the MTA board and the NY Times reports, "At the urging of City Hall, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s representatives at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority are set to abstain from supporting a generous compensation package for" Walder." Even though Bloomberg likes Walder, apparently the mayor "considered the package to be outsize for a state employee, particularly given the current financial climate, two people familiar with his view said. They said the mayor also believed that if Gov. David A. Paterson was not re-elected, the severance award would limit the ability of a new governor to install a director." Paterson's office has positioned the generous pay as "in line with that of his predecessor and those who lead large transit systems across the country and around the world." Walder, who worked with the MTA in the 1980s, recently ran London's transit system before leaving for Kinsey. more ›

Taking an earlier cue from the NY Post, now the Associated Press delves into the work habits of Nancy Shevell, transportation executive, MTA Board member and girlfriend of one Paul McCartney. more ›

With the State Senate stalling on the MTA bailout plan, a plan that has the support of Governor Paterson and Assembly Speaker Silver, the MTA is holding an emergency board meeting to discuss its options. And many think that if there's no bailout, the board will vote to implement the severe fare hikes and service cuts first mentioned last November (monthly Metrocard going from $81 to $103 dollars, bus lines are cut) in order to deal with its deficit. Richard Ravitch, who offered a number of suggestions for MTA revenue, including tolling East River and Harlem River bridges (which appears to be a dealbreaker for many State Senators), told the Daily News, "The public has a right to know - and the board has the responsibility to figure out - what kind of system it can operate with the revenues they have. They have to start thinking about shrinking the system." more ›

It's a tempest in an E-Z Pass tag teapot! With scrutiny about the MTA's decision to give lifetime free E-Z passes to board members (past, present, even dead) coming from Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, some board members who enjoy the perk plan to fight the MTA's attempt to take away E-Z passes and subway/bus and train passes for board members. It's against the law for MTA board members to take any pay for their jobs; the members would still be able to use the passes for official business. more ›

The Daily News has been keeping score which MTA officials have actually been showing up to the meetings where the public gets to air its opinions about the proposed fare hikes. And now that the meetings are over, the News names the three MTA board members who were no shows: (pictured, from left to right) Andrew Saul (who is Vice Chairman of the Board), Donald Cecil, and Susan Metzger. And mind you, these are members... more ›

Various public interest groups are protesting the MTA's likely acceptance of Bruce Ratner's bid to develop the Atlantic Rail Yards into a glittering complex of luxury apartment, retail space, and a Brooklyn Nets arena. Their constant, consistent complaint has been that the Ratner bid won't put enough back into the community and will just line his pockets. Ratner's bid was recently doubled to $100 million, only after the MTA had to ask for more because a dope would be able to understand that a cash bid of $50 million is less than Ratner's rival bid of $150 million in cold hard cash money. So it's likely that the bid will go through, as the MTA's real estate division recommended the Ratner plan yesterday. more ›