Two NY Post editorials, a NY Times editorial and a column by veteran Daily News columnist Jim Dwyer all pointed to the massive debt the MTA plan will wrack up, with both new borrowing and extension of existing bonds further into the future.

Editorial comment was augmented by Post opinion pieces from State Comptroller Carl McCall and former MTA Chair and present NYC Partnership/Chamber of Commerce President Robert Kiley. Kiley contrasted the solid financing for past rebuilding programs to the huge fare-backed debt the current MTA proposal will pile up as it tries to continue repair efforts while launching system expansion projects like the LIRR-Grand Central connection and the Second Avenue subway.

According to Kiley, earlier MTA programs had clearly spelled-out revenues pledged up front to support the bonds issued to pay for capital spending. On the other hand, the proposed 2000-2004 plan relies on a "mountain of debt for which there is no real funding." Its refinancing of old debt means some of it will be paid long after the end of the useful life of the assets - like subway cars and buses - it was used to purchase.

"If you ran a household like this, it would mean that 10 years after you junked a car, you would still be paying back the bank loan," wrote Dwyer.

Last week, downstate business groups and transit advocates asked Governor Pataki to convene a panel of experts to review transportation financing in NY State. But it appears now that Albany leaders are moving quickly to finish off the budget, including the 5-year transportation plan. The Times-Union reported today that lawmakers had agreed on a number of transportation budget elements, including the size of the NY State DOT construction program, restoring highway local aid funds proposed for elimination by the Governor, a special fund for transforming Route 17 into I-86 and a $45 million infusion of operating funds to the MTA to guarantee fare stability during FY2000-2001.

On Wednesday, NYC Public Advocate and likely Mayoral candidate Mark Green suggested revisiting the recently-abolished NYC commuter tax. In speaking out on the pitfalls of the MTA financing plan, he said the suburban public might embrace the levy's reimposition if it is clear that the revenues will be dedicated to transit system improvements. A letter from Green to the Governor and legislative leaders protested the MTA program's proposed shift in the share of capital spending in favor of the suburbs, and the agency's plan to mingle city and suburban fare revenue to cover debt service.

On Wednesday, Assemblyman Sam Hoyt (D-Buffalo), co-chair of Assembly Task Force on High Speed Rail, and Senator George Maziarz (R-Buffalo) joined forces with the Empire State Passengers Association (ESPA) to push for capital funding for upstate Amtrak service.

In a letter to State Senate Majority Leader Bruno, State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and to Governor Pataki, the legislators pointed to the inequity in the amount of inter-city train travel in the last decade - which they put at 1% of all passenger trips - and the less than .5% of state transportation capital resources invested in Amtrak improvements during the 1990's. "Senator Maziarz and I believe that transportation spending should be indicative of the preferences of the travelers," said Assemblyman Hoyt. The two called on state leaders to hike spending on inter-city rail to at least 1%. Hoyt recently estimated that that would amount to $300-$400 million over 5 years.

In a recent letter to Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, ESPA advised that "it is a serious mistake to assume that upstate voters care only about highways," and said that a bond issue that did not serve inter-city rail had little chance of gaining the statewide voter approval it would need to pass in November.

Under Governor Pataki's proposed 5-year transportation capital program, $80 million would be available for railroads, with an undetermined split between Amtrak's Empire Service and the freight carriers. While a 1999-2000 $185 million deal that matches federal CMAQ funds to an Amtrak investment is underwriting improvements in the eastern region of the state (because the CMAQ money needs to be used in Clean Air Act non-attainment areas), more state funding over the 5-year capital plan would permit ridership-inducing improvements around the state. These include 90-110 mph service in the Empire Corridor, reducing travel times to 1 hour and 15 minutes from NYC to Albany and four hours from NYC to Buffalo. Other potential projects include restoration of passenger service between NYC and Troy, to the Southern Tier, more Adirondack and northern area service.