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. more ›

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. more ›

Since it's unclear whether the State Legislature will make a deal to help out the MTA (they claim to want to, but there's no agreement on a plan), the MTA has no choice but to tell commuters what to expect with their unlimited Metrocards as "doomsday," May 31—the day fares go up about 25%— approaches. more ›

NY State Senate Democrats have finally offered their thoughts on how to help out the MTA—and mass transit commuters who otherwise will face significant service cuts and fare hikes. PolitickerNY sums up the plan's features: "A $1 surcharge on taxi rides in the 12 counties served by the M.T.A., raising $190 million; a sliding payroll tax on all businesses within that region, raising $1.49 billion; a $25 fee on motor vehicle registration, raising $130 million; a 25 percent increase on the fee to obtain a drivers license, raising $10.5 million; an eight percent increase on fares; and an increase in tax on rental cars, raising $35 million." (An 8% subway and bus fare increase would be preferable to a 25-30% fare hike.) more ›