MTR 297, MTA Fares Stay Stable, But Funding Shaky

Issue 297

December 11, 2000

MTA Fares Stay Stable, But Funding Shaky

At a MTA Transit Committee meeting last week, transit officials confirmed earlier indications that New York City bus and subway riders and rail commuters would see no fare increase in 2001 (MTR #296). The agency is expected to post a $162 million operating budget surplus this year. While transit advocates celebrated the promise of what will be the longest fare freeze since the 1960's, they also warned of the rough fiscal road ahead.

In a December 5th Daily News op-ed, the Straphangers Campaign's Gene Russianoff reminded readers that service to the MTA's mounting debt will almost triple to $1.6 billion annually over the next ten years and that, due to the recent failure of the Transportation Bond Act at the polls, even near term capital funding remains uncertain. He wrote: "Riders will know more when (Governor Pataki) issues his state budget next month. Unless he suggests new money - such as devoting some of the state's surplus - key transit improvements may be lost."