Two bills surfaced in Albany recently—one that would help to bring some order to Manhattan’s chaotic private bus service and another that attacks the dedicated funding that keeps New York City’s trains and buses running.

The Bus Bill

A bill introduced by Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) and Senator Daniel Squadron (D-Brooklyn), A4578/S2977, would authorize New York City to establish a permit system for private inter-city buses, like Bolt Bus and MegaBus. The bill aims to safeguard the health and safety of the public by increasing oversight of the industry. Over the past 15 years, the inter-city bus industry has expanded rapidly, but clear rules that govern where private buses are allowed to operate have not kept pace. This means that buses are currently:

• Parking in undesignated spots;
• Idling for long periods at a time;
• Taking up valuable sidewalk space with lines of passengers;
• Blocking entrances to businesses and;
• Parking at MTA bus stops and in MTA bus lanes

This has created a chaotic situation in Manhattan, and the results have been congestion, pollution, dangerous conditions for pedestrians, and inefficiency in the transportation system. While the inter-city bus industry has provided New Yorkers with more transportation options, expansion must be balanced with community concerns.

The same bill, which echoes a 2009 Tri-State report calling for strategies to formalize bus loading/unloading and bus parking areas in neighborhoods across the city, passed the New York State Assembly last year, though it died in the Senate. Last week, Senator Squadron issued a “Notice of Committee Consideration,” which means that the Senate Transportation Committee must vote on it within 45 days.

Dedicated Transit Funding Under Attack:

On Monday, despite a memo of opposition issued by Tri-State and Straphangers, the Senate Committee on Investigations and Government Operations voted to move a bill, A9124 (Thiele)/S6206 (Martins), that exempts municipalities from the MTA payroll mobility tax. Neither version addresses the legislation’s potential impact on the MTA, which attracted the notice of Senator Squadron.

“Until there is an alternate source of financing [for the MTA], I just can’t support this,” he said at the committee meeting.

Another bill introduced by Senator Jack Martins (R-Mineola) and Assemblyman Tom Abinanti (D-Greenburgh), A8868/S6079, is cued up to exempt libraries from the mobility tax.

These attacks on dedicated transit funding continue a trend that began last December, when Governor Cuomo and the New York State Legislature partially repealed the MTA payroll mobility tax. As a result, $310 million in formerly dedicated transit funding is now subject to Albany’s unpredictable annual appropriations process.

The payroll tax was passed to provide the MTA with a stable and reliable funding source. Without it, the agency may be forced to make further cuts, delay major construction projects, and increase already-scheduled fare hikes.