ESTA unveils pro-transit subway ads

With just over a month remaining until the MTA Board gathers to vote on the Doomsday budget proposal, the Empire State Transportation Alliance has unveiled a new ad campaign calling for transit funding from Albany. The ad, above (click to enlarge), urges riders to visit Keep New York Moving in order to contact their elected representatives and Gov. David Paterson with a pro transit message.

“Our ad urges transit riders to speak up,” Robert Yaro, president of the Regional Plan Association, a civic group and co-chair of the ESTA coalition. “Lawmakers need to act now or else draconian cuts will go into effect. At a time when the American economy has hit a weak point, it would be a big mistake to let public transit falter. Doing so will hurt our struggling businesses and discourage new enterprises from starting. Transit cuts also place an undue burden on the City’s poorest workers who are already suffering tremendously. We hope this campaign will challenge riders to stand up and take action.”

ESTA unveiled this PSA yesterday, and it will soon be seen in 3000 subway cars — or nearly half of NYC Transit’s rolling stock — throughout the city.

“The ad is effective because we don’t have a luxury system and there are no frills to cut. Our transit system is a necessity, and riders must send that message loud and clear to their State elected representatives and demand that they take action now,” William Henderson, executive director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, said.

The ads cost $120,000 to make, according to ESTA, and hopefully will serve to spur on Albany. “These 3,000 ads are a call to action,” says Paul Steely White, Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives. “New York’s 7.5 million daily straphangers can’t sit (or stand) idly while their commuting costs soar and service erodes.”