As the U.S. Senate Republican majority has refused to bail out states, cities and public transit agencies, the MTA has unveiled its own proposal for addressing a budget deficit expected to reach $12 billion by the end of 2021. In a presentation to the MTA Board today, agency CFO Bob Foran warned of a 40 percent cut to subway and bus service, a crippling decrease in commuter rail service, the loss of nearly 10,000 jobs across the entire transit agency and a halt to much or all of the MTA’s capital work.
The following images show the top-line budget reductions that could be on the table if the federal government does not step in to fund transit. As MTA Board members called upon the feds to act and some urged the MTA and state to prepare alternative solutions, it’s worth examining if this presentation is a promise of bad things to come, a political salvo in the funding fight or a mix of the two. I’ll have more analysis on that front later, but at a top line, implementing cuts of the nature contemplated by the MTA today would spell the short-term collapse of public transit in the New York City region and a bleak prospect for the area’s and the nation’s economic recovery out of the pandemic.
“The future of the MTA and the future of the New York region,” MTA Chair Pat Foye said today, “rests squarely in the hands of the U.S. Senate.”
Cuts to New York City Transit would drastically increase wait times and crowding
Commuter rail cuts would make some lines nearly useless while others may shut down entirely
The MTA could shelve most or all of the ambitious 2020-2024 Capital Plan, delaying expansion, modernization and accessibility initiatives throughout the region
60 comments
How long will it be before the trolls insist this is all Obama’s fault?
Sadly, it seems to have taken only an hour.
Seriously, Ben, the only trolls talking about Obama would appear to be you and Peter L. Do you even read the comments anymore?
Speaking in hindsight and going by the timestamps (if they are reliable enough), the irony hasn’t been lost on me.
These trolls lie in wait for a reason to spew their stupidity.
If ridership is down 75%, shouldn’t the MTA cut service commiserate with drop in ridership? That’s what airlines are gonna do if they don’t get their bailout starting October 1st.
The airlines are private companies that owe fiduciary duties to their shareholders. The MTA is not. It’s an inapt comparison.
No – as you forget about social distancing & they are two different business models. Also no transit, no functioning economy. That said, an economy can survive without an airline but it won’t be as robust compared to having one that is robust.
I ride the trains everyday and they are empty and the world outside of the canyons of Manhattan seems to be moving along just fine. The world has adjusted to working most days at home with the discovery that commuting sucks and all too often is a waste of time.
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Given the precipitous decline in passenger volume, this seems like a reasonable approach. Other agencies have made similar reductions. For example, in the Bay Area, BART has increased rush hour headways from 5 to 15 minutes, and off-peak from 15 to 30 minutes. And airlines are doing likewise.
When passenger volumes increase, headways can be reduced.
But given the amount of debt the MTA has taken on to tide through this period, will the money even show up or will it just go straight back to debt service?
Great first sentence. No bias at all, not at all.
Btw these service cuts are entirely prudent and appropriate, considering that our idiot mayor has no plans to bring our city back to life.
No bailout needed.
Are you triggered by the truth? It’s not bias to call out Mitch McConnell for failing American citizens, and a site that has always defended transit, as Ben has done, should be properly biased.
The mayor’s inactions are a separate story, and the MTA’s future shouldn’t be held hostage by his short-term failings.
Sounds like you’re the one who’s triggered. Blaming Senate Republicans for not fixing a budget mess that local Democrats have ignored for the past few decades? Seems pretty knee-jerk to me.
I’m only triggered by reality-denying idiots like you. It’s amazing how transit spaces in NYC just lead to Trump-loving MAGAts filling the comments. Are you aware that the MTA is not requesting a bailout for “fixing a budget mess that local Democrats have ignored for the past few decades”? Are you aware that the bailout is directly related to pandemic-related losses — a pandemic that your fearless leader said would go away within a few days back in February? Remove your head from Trump’s ass (let alone Pataki’s) and be smart.
If you think that the bailout is related only to COVID-related financial damage, or if you think that the Democrats have done a great job of keeping the MTA’s finances healthy for the past few decades, then I have a bridge to sell you. Name-call all you want, it’s not going to change the facts.
If you want to play a tedious blame game rather than acknowledging the reality that the MTA’s deficit in 2020 before the pandemic was $200 million rather than $7 billion and that the loss of fare revenues and taxes from the pandemic is driving this new deficit, you should start with an examination of Rudy Giuliani and George Pataki. It’s academic and completely meaningless for the current moment, but you seem intent on blaming one group of people for a different crisis than the one at hand while willfully ignoring the one at hand. Enjoy.
Seems you only want to play the blame game when you can blame Republicans. Giuliani left office in 2001. Maybe you want to blame Governor Rockefeller while you’re at it? Emperor Cuomo has been in power since 2011. And if you think the MTA’s budget was “only” $200 million in the red before Cuomo bungled the pandemic, again, I have a bridge to sell you. This mess belongs to the Democrats and their union allies. Own it.
Thinking that if the MTA had been “keeping its finances heavy” it’d be able to deal with a $10B operating deficit = LOL. Total innumeracy. I am certain this kid has never come near running a business in his life.
Christopher…please do the math. Bad spending practices (from Democrat Cuomo and Republican Pataki alike) led the MTA to a $200 million deficit. The virus let it to an almost $10 BILLION deficit. These are two different issues on two different scales. If the federal gov said they’d pay for virus recovery, but not cover that $200 million that was squandered, I would have no problem with that. But this is like if a guy wasting his money on lottery tickets suddenly had his house burn down in a freak accident. Yeah, the lotto money is stupid and he should stop it, but 20 bucks a week is nothing compared to LOSING YOUR HOME, and his insurance plan should still kick in.
Except it wasn’t just a $200 million deficit, it was billions of dollars of debt over decades that the agency had no way of ever paying back, leaving it with no ability to borrow when the system was shut down. To extend your house-burned-down metaphor, it’s not complaining about the $20 in lottery tickets, it’s complaining about the matches and kindling and open cans of kerosene the guy left around the house after vandalizing the wiring and then expecting the insurance to kick in even after years of missed premium payments. It’s tough to feel sorry for that guy when he loses his home. The MTA has been run recklessly for decades. Time to let it fold.
Mitch McConnell is Mayor of NYC or Governor of NY State?
The NYC subway travels entirely within New York City and provides an essential service to a metropolitan area. It is not (except incidentally) a part of Interstate commerce and the Feds owe us nothing. They already overpaid for 2nd ave, East Side Access, etc.
I’m having a really hard time understanding how the first line is biased. Is it not the Senate that’s holding up funding for transit? Ben has written critically about both the mayor and the governor many times in the past. He’s called them out on more issues than I can remember. But this is not on them. The only place the money comes from to keep the system running is from the federal government, and it’s the Senate that’s currently holding up the bill that would provide the relief. If we’re not going to use the federal government to bail out the biggest transit system in the country during an unprecedented pandemic, what is it there for?
If we’re not going to use the federal government to bail out the biggest transit system in the country during an unprecedented pandemic, what is it there for?
It’s there for those who kiss the ring of the dictator. Side with him & you get rich – go against him you are left to fend for yourself. Republicans learned this quickly once the gangster & chief was sworn in.
Unprecedented? TB and iron lungs never happened? The deadly Spanish Flu (which killed the young rather than the almost-dead) around the world did not exist? Are you using a meaning of ‘unprecedented’ from the Romulan dictionary which means “something that happens cyclicly throughout history”?
Point taken. But I think my point stands if you remove “unprecedented.” I neither appreciate nor agree with your characterization of the folks who have passed from this disease as “almost-dead” but that’s not the point either. The bottom line is providing this kind of financial relief to keep such a vital piece of the US economy running during an extremely difficult time is exactly what the federal government is for. It’s the moral and practical thing to do.
Public transportation in NYC is never going to be what it was. While by many measures we used to compare well with European and Asian cities in terms of usage of public transportation and lack of car ownership, we will never be able to do so again. The future of the MTA is what WMATA used to be. The future of WMATA is what MARTA used to be. And well, MARTA is turning into what the average tourist attraction railroad used to be. As for those tourist attraction railroads, most of them are gone for good now. Once the cuts happen, passengers are not going to come back because the convenience is gone and the waits are long. That will lead to even more cuts. The NYC region system is not sized for the public transportation usage in DC. Many miles of tracks will eventually be abandoned, some probably forever. Unless the region chokes up in car traffic, the passengers are not going to come back and with many firms allowing work from home up to until next May, there is no reason for the car traffic to reach carmaggedon. By next May, the West Hempstead branch will be gone. Metro-North west of Hudson will be gone. Lack of overnight subway service will be permanent. Some of the buses will come back, but not many and only because the marginal cost of adding another bus is low once the demand justifies it. What no recession and political meddling ever succeeded to accomplish a tiny virus did: destroy any hope that public transportation has a viable future in the US.
I can’t speak for the region, but New York City will certainly end up choking in surface traffic for some time with little left to relieve it. The city government clearly sees nothing wrong with allowing just about everything (including infrastructure) to deteriorate. The NYCDOT seems to have no trouble finding zero sum ways to reduce general capacity and throughput of the roads. They seemed oblivious enough to the deleterious effects that much of their pet projects inflict to surface public transportation that has more than two wheels…
Expecting a bailout from Washington is fruitless. Local elected have spent the last four years calling Republicans every name in the book, refusing to compromise an inch on anything, and generally acting as if the sky was falling. Now that they need help from the Republicans, they’re playing the “we’re too big to fail” card? Good luck with that. If only there had been some way of predicting this could happen…
Texas and Louisiana have lots of Republican leaders who spread lies about President Obama’s birthplace. Should national Democrats not have funded their recoveries from storms? Of course not, that would be insane! The point of government is to take care of *all* Americans, regardless of residence or political affiliation. Senate Republicans blocking support for New York is unprecedented in modern American history, and the fault is entirely theirs.
(and before you say this is just partisan blaming, I actually don’t fault Trump here, he originally seemed more amenable to local aid than McConnell before his party told him no)
I actually recall plenty of local Democrats saying that we shouldn’t have sent help to Texas after its last big hurricane.
And they’re wrong for saying so. Good thing they were in the minority, and both parties cooperated for the good of the country. Why don’t you think they should keep doing that? If Biden wins, should we suddenly switch to only funding blue states, and leave red ones to die? That would be just as terrible and anti-American as this.
@JWEISS — Thank you! A voice of sdanity and reason!
To be honest, the tone in Congress these days is that blue state politicians really do wish red state voters would just die. Over and over Pelosi et al. beat that drum (example: look at the glee they show every time new COVID cases get reported in red states). Don’t think that message isn’t getting through to both sides.
Anyone who claims politicians are taking glee in coronavirus cases or deaths should never be taken seriously again. Thanks for showing your cards.
If New York was a red state, you could be sure that Trump and his fellow miserable, treasonous fascists would be pouring money in here like Niagra Falls. This is also why we need to dump the Electoral College. Most of this country lives in cities and suburbs and we get, on a percentage basis, peanuts compared to rural areas.
Just remember, no city, no market for everything made elsewhere.
I’m at the point where I wish Canada would tell the entire northeast, “Hey, we’re thinking of adding a few new provinces.”
Just remember, no city, no market for everything made elsewhere.
NYC is a reflection of the nation as a whole politics aside. If the city & it’s transit system fail, the rest of the nation will follow. Was true in the past, is true now & will be true going forward.
I’m at the point where I wish Canada would tell the entire northeast, “Hey, we’re thinking of adding a few new provinces.”
Totally agree.
“If the city & it’s transit system fail, the rest of the nation will follow. Was true in the past, is true now & will be true going forward.” This was never true. NYC’s transit system nearly collapsed in the 70’s, and yet the entire nation’s economy didn’t suffer irreparable harm. Thinking that the US economy will somehow crumble without NYC subway trains running at full capacity is ridiculous, and it’s typical of the New York exceptionalism that gets us into trouble time and again. I’m a pretty big New York chauvinist, and even I realize that NYC is not the center of the universe.
It is true & you know it is true. NYC’s economy is so much more than subway trains full of passengers, that I cant believe you went there.
Every global city from London to Soul has an extensive transit network that is still functioning despite the pandemic. So when you bring up New York exceptionalism getting us into trouble time and again, you need to remember proper context as New York is the only global city in this situation.
NYC economy is hollowing out and its been going in that direction for a number of years. NYC economy is based upon the wealthy of the world using the city as a place where they can launder their money through real estate development and financial transactions. People invest their money here not because they have to but rather because being here is a status symbol. Everything else that goes on is a collateral benefit of that activity and many businesses have decided that those support activities could be done cheaper elsewhere. Those transit ridership drops over the past few years were no aberration.
NYC economy is hollowing out and its been going in that direction for a number of years. NYC economy is based upon the wealthy of the world using the city as a place where they can launder their money through real estate development and financial transactions. People invest their money here not because they have to but rather because being here is a status symbol. Everything else that goes on is a collateral benefit of that activity and many businesses have decided that those support activities could be done cheaper elsewhere.
If what we see in NYC is nothing more than money laundering by the elite, then it is safe to assume that every primary city across the globe from Soul to Paris is no different as the same elite could just move themselves with their wealth to what ever place that suits them at the moment & not bat an eye about it. However the collateral damage wouldn’t just be felt in the region, the ripple effect would be national & perhaps international in scope.
So when I defend NYC the way I do, it is in that context & not just the attitude that “NYC is the center of the universe.”. Unfortunately some here fail to comprehend that simple concept & get defensive about it.
New York City used to be one of the places that you had to visit to do business beyond what was available to where you came from. And New York historically was blessed with the sheer variety of things that could be done within city limits and in the greater metropolitan region.
Unfortunately, New York has lost much of the industries and independent small private businesses over the past few decades for different reasons. Over time, the city has lost much diversity of the economy supporting it and has become heavily reliant on the FIRES sector – Finance, Insurance, Real Estate and supporting Services (I’d personally lump Education as Services).
Even prior to the Coronavirus Pandemic, some of the bigger firms have already released plans to leave New York citing unfavorable conditions. The pandemic has only accelerated the timeframe of what would have inevitably happened. Services are now struggling with the sudden loss of their customer base (or from arbitrary government mandates) and as many of them have operating expenses that can no longer be justified, they are likely headed for exits as well. Public transportation may have been an important amenity, but it was not a buttress to the vast majority of those businesses. The city and the state have big problems ahead regardless of how it maintains its public transportation system.
Even prior to the Coronavirus Pandemic, some of the bigger firms have already released plans to leave New York citing unfavorable conditions. The pandemic has only accelerated the timeframe of what would have inevitably happened.
That isn’t a NYC problem, that’s a national economic problem.
Sean, a national economic problem would be those businesses closing up shop for good. That’s not what’s happening. They are LEAVING NEW YORK CITY, relocating elsewhere in the UNITED STATES AND there’s nothing comparable to fill in the void that they leave in New York City’s economic ecosystem. (But hey, if you believe that the United States revolves around New York City, then sure it’s a “national economic problem”)
(But hey, if you believe that the United States revolves around New York City, then sure it’s a “national economic problem”)
I do believe that as so much of what we do in our daily lives has a NYC connection even if we never set foot within it’s borders. Also keep this in mind NYC is an economic mirror on to the world. What image we reflect gets magnified. If our city isn’t healthy, then our country isn’t.
Comparing this to the 1970’s when the city went bankrupt is apples to oranges as there wasn’t a pandemic at the time.
Let’s also abolish political parties as well while you are at it.
Financial viability of the MTA is a four way dance between farebox revenue, City Hall, Albany and Washington. There are $12 billion worth of Federal Transit Administration funding projects and programs in active open grants. The MTA has never initiated and completed a forensic audit to determine unspent available balances. The FTA issued guidance on March 13 that gave all transit agencies including the MTA permission for reallocation of federal funding from capital projects in existing grants to reprogram these funds toward COVID-19 capital and operating expenses.
The FTA made available $1.4 billion worth of annual formula funding in 2020. The MTA can program these funds toward COVID-19 capital and operating expenses. MTA has already received $3.9 billion in CARE COVID-19 funding. .
On October 1st, an additional $1.5 billion in 2021 funds will become available. (This assumes Congress completes passage of a transportation funding bill on time for a change and sends it to the President that he can sign it). The MTA can program these funds toward covering capital improvements and operating deficits as a result of COVID-19. Riders and Washington have already done their part. City Hall and Albany must do likewise.
(Larry Penner — transportation advocate, historian and writer who previously worked for the Federal Transit Administration Region 2 New York Office. This included the development, review, approval and oversight for billions in capital projects and programs for the MTA, NYC Transit, Long Island Rail Road, Metro North Rail Road, MTA Bus along with 30 other transit agencies in NY & NJ) .
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Larry, just stop cutting and pasting. Just stop.
Among all the acrimony in these comments, it seems to me what’s being lost is that a lot of citizens are going to suffer on account of governmental mismanagement at all levels. It also looks like a lot of people seem to want New York to fail, which I don’t understand. Why should the citizens be punished for the dysfunction of their government? Moreover, why do people think this virus will be the end of cities? They’ve gone through pandemics and bad economic cycles for thousands of years and remained. Hell, New York has been through those turnstiles a few times, too, in spite of how young a city it is compared to those in the Old World. Her tenacity and commitment to pulling through has always been impressive. Maybe I’m wrong, but it sometimes feels like Americans’ natural instinct is to pull up and leave when things get tough rather than try to fix things. This isn’t the can-do spirit the US used to be known for around the world. New York’s problems are largely remediable, too, and I suspect many will remain to try and fix it as they have in many cities that have been written off as lost causes in this country by people who don’t care and have no skin in the game.
And this is the impressions coming from someone who’s never even been to New York City. Long live the city! Long live New York!
“It also looks like a lot of people seem to want New York to fail, which I don’t understand. Why should the citizens be punished for the dysfunction of their government? ”
Not sure if your question is rhetorical, but the answer is “the citizens voted for the people running the government, and they keep voting for leaders that let them down” To wit: De Blasio easily won re-election, as did Cuomo, twice.
“Moreover, why do people think this virus will be the end of cities?”
I’m not saying I agree with everything this guy says, but he’s summed up the main arguments:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/nyc-dead-forever-heres-why-james-altucher/
As a life-long Manhattanite, I would much prefer to share your optimism. Unfortunately, based on what I’m seeing with my own eyes, I just can’t see a way out of our current mess in the next decade. Will things be better by 2030? Probably. But I already lived through New York in the 70’s, and it was awful. I don’t have the stamina to do that twice in a lifetime.
Moreover, why do people think this virus will be the end of cities? They’ve gone through pandemics and bad economic cycles for thousands of years and remained. Hell, New York has been through those turnstiles a few times, too, in spite of how young a city it is compared to those in the Old World. Her tenacity and commitment to pulling through has always been impressive.
The assumption by some is that since companies are now allowing employees to work from home & the US is a suburban nation, cities are really unnecessary. And NYC’s decline is a natural reflection of that thought process. Of course that mindset you point out is ridiculous & is why I noted above NYC’s health is a reflection of the nation as a whole. The same applies to every global city in every country across the globe.
Christopher, “I don’t have the stamina to do that twice in a lifetime.” How come & I’m honestly asking you.
“Christopher, “I don’t have the stamina to do that twice in a lifetime.” How come & I’m honestly asking you.”
Most of the reasons are off topic, but since you ask: New York in the 70s was dangerous and dirty. I was lucky enough to grow up a few blocks from Central Park, but back then the park was mostly bald patches where grass should have been, there was broken glass everywhere, and it was only somewhat safe during daylight hours – and after sunset, using the park was out of the question. On the streets you had to plan your route strategically to minimize the risk of being mugged (and I lived in a relatively safe neighborhood). Exploring the city – something I took for granted until this year – was a risky proposition. And, to bring it back to the subject at hand, the subways were a nightmare, something you took only if you had to, and even then it was a dirty, scary experience.
As I get older, I’m going to be less able to defend myself, and the more crime rates shoot up, both on the streets and on the subways, the fewer options I will have as to what I can do safely in NYC. I don’t want to live like that, and I certainly don’t want to keep paying much higher than average prices to do so. What’s worse is that I don’t see a way for the city to turn around anymore. There’s no competent leadership, and the tax base just took a huge hit, one that will take decades to bounce back, if ever. I don’t want to spend the last few decades of my life hoping things get better while living in fear. There are worlds elsewhere.
“A lot of citizens are going to suffer on account of governmental mismanagement at all levels.”
It isn’t mismanagement, it is theft. By the generations now over 62, the richest in U.S. history, at the expense of the poorer generations to follow. It isn’t a defect it’s a feature.
And who is it who is running things, at every level of government? The fact that they have served themselves and harmed their descendants remains under Omertà.
So, how does the proposed reduction in MTA employment and total labor costs (wages and benefits) compare with the proposed reduction in service?
They are just loving this — putting the serfs in their place.
‘Senate Republican majority’ – funny I don’t recall you labeling dibalsio/cuomo as dems when you have criticism for them.
Ben’s spent years bashing de Blasio and Cuomo for their terrible transit policies, but mention the reality that Senate Republicans are holding up an aid bill and you snowflakes cry like a bunch of triggered babies. The House Democrats passed the bill three months ago, and Mnuchin will sign off on anything the Senate passes. The hold-up is Mitch McConnell, who hates everything about most Americans. Deal with it.
The MTA isn’t being serious. As thelirrtoday has pointed out, they could slash a billion from LIRR just by bringing it up to Metro-North operating standards. They *can’t* cut accessbiility upgrades — they’re about to be ordered to do 50 of them, regardless of how much funding they have, as compensation for previous ADA violations (illegal construction).
Should’ve kept Andy Byford.
So let me get this straight – the MTA needs $12B to operate thru 2021 and has determined that the Federal Government is the only source that can possibly provide this funding. So Cuomo decides to get into a childish spat with Trump – and for what? To improve the chances for getting funding? Cuomo’s ego is out of control and New Yorkers are going to pay the price. And the puppets he planted on the Board are an embarrassment.
Cuomo doesn’t give a tin shit about the MTA and has proven that several times. He doesn’t care whether the MTA gets funded or not. That’s why he’s diverted MTA funds several times for purposes he thinks are more important.
We need a fearless, senior personage with a timeless perspective to discover the perpetrators of the massive cash drains within the MTA, one who will dip the kleptocrats in their own sauce, one with unblinking resolve, who will apply it apply it with unfailing art.
Bring on Judge Doom!