Several key developments in the MTA’s funding saga have taken place in the past week:

On Tuesday, 10 members of the MTA Board traveled to Albany to lobby state lawmakers in support of the Ravitch Plan. While MTA chairman Dale Hemmerdinger felt the trip had heightened legislators’ awareness of the MTA’s plight, he questioned the trip’s efficacy in swaying lawmakers.

Almost certainly more persuasive was Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s decision to come out in favor of East and Harlem River bridge tolls on Wednesday, though his plan would set the tolls equivalent to the price of a subway fare, currently $2. His compromise was praised as a courageous and smart plan by the NY Times, Post, Daily News, and Staten Island Advance today.

However, several prominent Senate Democrats including Ruben Diaz Sr. and Finance Committee chairman Carl Kruger have come out in strong opposition to any legislation permitting tolling. State Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith issued his own statement today, which says that $2 bridge tolls are worth considering — but not if transit riders have to pay more than they would under a $5 toll. The State Legislature must pass a plan by March 25 for the MTA to avoid inflicting deep service cuts and large fare increases.

Straphangers and others still have time to make their voice heard. At the Campaign for New York’s Future website riders can send messages to their state elected officials. The MTA is accepting official public comments on its website until Monday, March 2. Also on Monday, the MTA will hold its first-ever public hearing in Orange County. The hearing begins at 6 pm and will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn in Newburgh (shuttle buses will run between the hotel and the Beacon train station). More information can be found here.