Good morning. I am Felicia Park-Rogers, Director of Regional Infrastructure Projects for Tri-State Transportation Campaign, a policy and advocacy organization working to improve equity and the environment through regional transportation.
Today’s headlines are dominated by the news of the MTA facing a massive fiscal cliff. According to a report released by the State Comptroller today, the expected MTA deficit for next fiscal year is as much as $2.5 billion a year. The continued underfunding of the MTA has put the agency in a dire fiscal crisis. Without new revenue sources, fares will have to increase, services will be cut, and workers will be laid off. While these measures may temporarily help close the MTA’s budget gap, they will also make it harder for working families, young people, the disabled, and seniors to access jobs, education, health care, and family. A bare bones MTA will make our region less competitive economically and culturally.
We call on Governor Hochul to include significant emergency funds for the MTA in her executive budget expected in January. We also call on the Governor to implement new dedicated funding sources for the MTA. The State alone can protect transit riders and essential workers from excessive fare hikes and a death spiral of service. TSTC has long advocated for dedicated transit funding, which would prevent these kinds of crises from happening. This is not a problem that can be resolved overnight, but Governor Hochul and state leaders must now develop meaningful solutions.
In addition, we’re calling on the governor and state lawmakers to immediately end the gas tax holiday. For every dollar New York loses in gas tax revenue because of the suspension, less than 50 cents go back into state residents’ pockets, the analysis found. Only 42 percent of the benefits are going to New Yorkers who were intended as primary beneficiaries, while 22 percent go to out-of-state residents and 6 percent go to New York’s richest 5 percent of households. Although the State has been making the MTA whole for missing gas tax funds during the recent tax suspension, this is not a long-term solution. Transit needs gas tax funds AND additional dedicated funding.
The MTA is right to restructure its debt and look for efficiencies in the system. In particular, we urge the agency to create savings and improve service for riders by moving the commuter rails towards serving as a unified regional rail service, details of which are outlined in our recent report: From Here to There, Regional Rail for Metro NYC.
To combat the region’s transportation crises — including road violence, traffic congestion, and carbon emissions — the state must invest in mass transit rather than making it cheaper and easier to drive a private vehicle. The Governor and the Legislature need to create a long-term funding solution for the MTA — and they need to do it now.
