Last year, to the dismay of many, the MTA made some serious service cuts (nixing dozens of bus routes and two subway lines) in the name of keeping saving $93 million in its $12.6 billion budget. Yesterday MTA board members Mitch Pally and Allen Cappelli tried to introduce an amendment that would have restored some of those services for a mere $20 million—nice Christmas gift, right? Not so fast. The rest of the MTA finance committee smacked down the idea in a 7-2 vote. Maybe next year? more ›

Total of lost revenues incurred by the MTA due to last month's blizzard? $16 million. Cost of all that overtime? $14 million. Leaving New Yorkers stranded on the subway for hours? Priceless. All told, the blizzard ended up costing the MTA somewhere in the neighborhood of $30 million. But hey, act of God, right? City Council Transportation Chair James Vacca doesn't think so—he's says all that could have been avoided if the MTA only had its shit together. Vacca, you ask the impossible. more ›

The state legislature's attempt to bail out the MTA last year has fallen $400 million short, because tax revenues were considerably less than anticipated. You'll recall that back in May 2009, with Doomsday looming, the legislature passed a $2.26 billion plan to bail out the MTA by way of a big payroll tax and numerous other surcharges, including a 50-cent taxi fee; increased costs for a driver's license; and car-rental, garage-parking and license fees. But revenues have fallen short of projections, and now the MTA faces another budget gap, again. Please be patient. more ›

Today the MTA released its 2011 Preliminary Budget and proposed Four-Year Financial Plan for 2011-2014. No surprises here; the plan includes all the different fare hike proposals that have been floated in the past couple of weeks. You can peruse the full financial plan in pdf form here. One of the more controversial proposals would kill the unlimited MetroCard, replacing it with a monthly card that maxes out at 90 rides for $99, and a weekly card that would have a limit of 22 rides for $28. more ›

In their latest piece about the proposed fare hikes from the MTA, the Times offers this bit of insight that may shock you: when the MTA faces a deficit, it's the riders who must pay to fill it. We thought double rainbows and Princess Leia would take care of everything, but it is now being reported that to close their $400 million budget gap, the MTA will be relying on the assumption that straphangers will pay up because they have no other choice. Surely you jest, Gray Lady! more ›

As the MTA sets out to trim its ranks as a money-saving measure, it's the usual suspects in our cynical world who are getting shafted: the middle and lower-level employees. According to the Daily News, out of the 200 employees earning between $100,000 and $350,000, only five got the axe in the MTA's most recent administrative purge, while 22 employees making $55,000 or less, including seven secretaries, were fired. more ›

If there's any good news in relation to the latest proposed MTA fare hikes, it's that those who don't use the subway very often may be feeling the brunt of the cost. Though they say they want to fill their $400 million budget gap without raising the $2.25 base fare, the Daily News reports that the fare for single-ride paper subway tickets could be going up to $2.50. (The base fare would apparently remain $2.25 for bus rides.) Just 2.1% of customers use single-ride tickets, and we're guessing many of them don't use the subways that frequently. more ›

Now that the MTA has agreed not to phase out the Student MetroCard program that allows over 500,000 students to ride to school and back for free, there are many sighs of relief from students and their parents. A student at St. Joseph High School told WCBS 2, "My mom won't have to give me $4.50 every day to go to school. That saves me hundreds of dollars a year." more ›

After a large protest last week and steady outcry over the past six months, the MTA has abandoned plans to cut the free Student MetroCard program. The card allows over 500,000 students free rides to and from school, but the agency wanted to scrap the plan to help close its $800 million budget gap. Below is the MTA's statement, which acknowledges that everyone's finances are hurting—"We recognize the very difficult financial environment for not only the State and City, but for the hundreds of thousands of families in New York City who frankly could not afford to pay the added cost of transit fares for school transportation"—but points out that because the program will remain, its deficit will grow. more ›

Estimates for yesterday's student walkout, protesting the proposed Student MetroCard elimination, vary: The AP says 1,000 showed up while the Daily News says it was closer to 400. Still, the students, who chanted "This is what democracy looks like," were cheered on by a few politicians, like State Senator Pedro Espada (D-Bronx), who was outside the Fordham Leadership Academy for Business and Technology in the Bronx; the News reports that he said, "You have my pledge ... we will make this a priority." more ›

Over 2,400 students are planning to walk out of their classes at noon today to protest the end of the free student MetroCard. The MTA has proposed cutting the free transportation, which costs $214 million, to help close a huge budget gap, but students argue they'll be hurting. One told WCBS 2, "I live really far from school. I would have to pay all the time to get to school," while another argued, "I live in Queens and go to school in Brooklyn. I can't pay to go to school every day." more ›

Yesterday, a judge ordered the MTA to reopen 38 token booths closed as part of the agency's cost-cutting measures. This ruling from Justice Saliann Scarpulla comes a week after her earlier one finding that the MTA's layoffs and booth closings were illegal because they occurred without public hearings. more ›

Last month, the MTA laid off hundreds of station agents, as part of its cost saving measures, only for a judge to block the decision. Now, a judge has ruled that the agency "violated the law when it closed booths and laid off about 260 agents last month without holding public hearings," according to City Room. more ›

On Wednesday, the Empire Center for New York State Policy released payroll data showing over 8,000 MTA employees made over $100,000, including overtime and extra pay, and an overall average pay raise of 2.4%. There's a searchable database of the employees and their salaries, leading to factoids like "Eleven of the 561 employees who earned more than $150,000 in 2009 were Long Island Railroad car repairmen who earned an average of $167,342 - which was $102,477 over their annual base pay rate of $64,865." Yup, overtime is costing a fortune. more ›

Long Island Rail Road riders, it's time for you to share in the MTA's cost-cutting measures to deal with an $800 million budget shortfall ("The LIRR developed reductions that will improve efficiency while attempting to minimize the adverse impact to customers"). Service from Long Beach, Babylon, Oyster Bay, Port Jefferson and Port Washington is either eliminated or reduced starting today. Details are here—for instance, on the Babylon line, "The 7:40 AM train from Seaford to Atlantic Terminal, Brooklyn will be canceled. To accommodate customers from this train, the 7:33 AM train from Babylon to Atlantic Terminal will depart four minutes earlier at 7:29 AM, and stops will be added at Wantagh, Bellmore, Merrick, Freeport, Baldwin and Rockville Centre." more ›

A judge has issued a restraining order preventing the MTA from laying off 475 token booth clerks (also known as station agents) last night. According to the Daily News, "union lawyers argued the Metropolitan Transportation Authority failed to follow legally required steps like holding additional public hearings." Originally, the workers were supposed to go to a training center today to turn in their badges. more ›

After a series of contentious public hearings in which four people were arrested, the cash-strapped MTA announced that is considering saving several bus routes that had been slated for elimination. According to the Daily News, a "small number" of bus routes might be spared, though a final decision hasn't yet been made. By making administrative cuts, MTA chief Jay Walder told the Post he can save about $5 million and keep some previously endangered bus lines running. "We have listened closely to our customers and will respond by making changes where we can," he said. Student MetroCards and the W train remain on the chopping block. more ›

Last night's Manhattan public hearing about the MTA's proposed cuts—cutting subway and bus service, eliminating student Metrocards, getting rid of 1,000 workers—was not the chaotic, arrest-filled scene that occurred on Wednesday in Brooklyn. But emotions were just as high, as students, members of the Transport Workers Union, politicians, and others protested outside the Fashion Institute of Technology, with many police officers on hand in case things got heated. more ›

At a protest held Tuesday morning on the Upper West Side, more community advocates, high schoolers, and local politicians, including City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, rallied against the MTA's plans to cut free student Metrocards. The event at Martin Luther King Jr. High School followed similar protests this past weekend in Harlem, and came on the heels of the passing of the MTA's "doomsday" budget, which included the phasing-out of the free Metrocard program, which will affect more than 500,000 students. more ›

Dozens of high school students demonstrated in Harlem this weekend to protest the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's controversial plan to get rid of free student Metrocards, according to NY1. As a part of its proposed "Doomsday" service cuts, the MTA is planning on eliminating the subsidized transit passes for youngsters, which allow some 500,000 students to get to school for free. more ›

Whether you're selling candy bars for new basketball uniforms or could use some extra space for your xylophone and stand up bass, you'll be happy to know that there's been more room on the subways so far this year with ridership dramatically down. This past March saw approximately 2.5 million less riders take public transportation compared with March 2008. Of course good news for cramped straphangers isn't exactly music to the MTA's ears. The drop in ridership has given the agency a new budget shortfall to worry about with $7.1 million less in fares coming in than was expected in March alone. Toll collections are offering no relief—bridges and tunnels saw a million less drivers come across them than the year prior as well. How long until the MTA threatens more service cuts or starts charging those pesky two-wheeled "anti-car extremists" for using their crossings? The Post blames the lazy unemployed for no longer paying their fare to go to work and suggests heavier snowfall this winter didn't help either. more ›

The MTA's board will be voting on the so-called Doomsday budget this morning. Since the MTA faces billion-dollar deficits with no help in sight (aside from the State approving the Ravitch Commission recommendations), the board is expected to pass the plan that includes big fare hikes and drastic service cuts. more ›