On March 18, the Assembly announced its budget proposal. The Assembly's budget allocated $103.3 million more to the MTA than the Governor's budget. Of this, $83.3 million was set aside for service restorations.

Although the Assembly budget's size is good news, it lacks specific targets. Straphangers Campaign urged the Ways and Means Committee members to use the money for bus and subway restorations including:


• Guaranteeing that riders will wait of no more than six minutes during rush hour for subways.

• Restoring bus service be restored to 1986 levels including 78,000 weekly bus trips.

• Making MTA adhere to its guarantee that all riders will get a seat during off-peak hours.

Further, the budget should include language from Assembly bill 2317-A, which would require detailed monthly reporting of service levels for each subway line so that MTA can be held accountable.

The Senate will release a detailed budget next week.