Alarm bells are ringing for transit in the New York metropolitan area, TSTC and other members of the Empire State Transportation Alliance told elected leaders in Albany this Monday.  At the state capitol, ESTA members testified at budget hearings and met with legislators and staff from the governor’s and NYC mayor’s offices. They said that, by cutting transit funding in November, state officials “had gone back on [their] commitment to stave off devastating service cuts and provide a start to fund critical capital needs.” Coalition members recommended the following steps:

• That the state restore the $143 million cut to the MTA it made in November.  The state and city must also work together to cover the cost of NYC student MetroCards, which are being funded almost entirely by the MTA at a cost of $214 million per year and are set to be cut.
• That the state approve a robust five-year MTA capital plan in order to avoid a deteriorating transit system and economic decline. (Gov. Paterson vetoed the agency’s proposed 2010-14 plan and later proposed a two-year capital plan for NYSDOT, setting a worrisome precedent for the MTA.)
• That the MTA delay planned service cuts until other funding options have been exhausted.
• That state and city decisionmakers continue to work towards long-term revenue sources for the MTA, such as variable road pricing, that will keep the agency in good financial shape during hard economic times and fund capital spending.

“We are not asking the state for a bailout or handout,” Tri-State Transportation Campaign’s Veronica Vanterpool said in a release.  “We are asking state legislators to restore transit funds that were taken and to keep last year’s promise for a financially solvent and sustainable funding plan.”

ESTA’s other members include Regional Plan Association, the Straphangers Campaign, General Contractors Association of New York, Environmental Defense Action Fund, New York State Laborers, ACEC New York, Citizens Union Foundation, Campaign for New York’s Future, Construction Industry Council of New York, Long Island Contractor’s Association, Natural Resources Defense Council, New York State Building and Construction Trades Council, New York League of Conservation Voters, Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to MTA, and Transportation Alternatives.