The Post seems outraged — outraged, I tell you! — at the news that the MTA will proceed with a $1 billion purchase order for new subway cars despite what the tabloid terms a “$1.3 billion budget gap.” Now, granted, no one is denying the budget gap, but this $1 billion purchase isn’t coming from the same operations budget as the deficit. It’s coming out of the capital budget funded through different mechanisms. While riders pay when the operations budget falters, the capital budget is used to improve the system. It too has its problems, but New York’s newspapers should by now know the difference between the MTA’s operations budget and its capital fund.
New car purchase a matter of budget
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Oh they know that; they just want a catchy headline.
PS. Please please new cars come to the R….
New cars on the A and C!
The numbers the article gives are a bit weird – Wikipedia quotes the full cost of the order as $2.4 billion, not $3.2.
Bet you Queens Blvd lines will get the next round of new trains. A and C will be last.
I’ll bet that someone will complain about the idle subway cars at the Transit Museum not be used or the dumping of old subway cars in ocean waters to be used as reefs.
One person who commented on the Post article mentioned how the debt service for capital construction ultimately hits the operating budget. If it’s true, it’s a valid point.
Meanwhile, if you want new trains on the R, A, or C, you could always take them from the W and Z lines. They may not need them anymore.
If the Z is eliminated, the MTA will have to compensate by increasing J service; likewise, if the W is eliminated, the MTA will increase N and R service. It probably won’t reduce the number of trains in service by much.