The $110 million in unexpected revenues described earlier this month by NYC City Council Speaker as "found money" is about the same amount as the annual operating contribution the city makes to the franchise bus fleet it says it can no longer afford.

The $110 million in extra revenues was discovered following a series of tax audits. There are other signs that an improving economy may be poised to ease the city’s fiscal crisis, including estimated third quarter tax revenues and a general improvement of conditions for the securities industry.

If fiscal pressures do ease, the city’s claim it cannot afford to support the bus system — which Mayor Bloomberg articulated during budget presentations over the last several years — will weaken significantly. The mayor wants to transfer the city-franchised bus routes to the MTA. But the MTA rightly says it cannot absorb the routes without some source of funding for the additional operating and capital costs doing so would entail.

The city will still face a budget deficit next year, but the mayor is already risking political backlash in important political territory by leaving the bus issue unresolved. In Queens, memories are still fresh from the 2002 strike on the franchise bus lines, which carry over 200,000 riders per day. The mayor has been campaigning in city boroughs to bolster his public image, and would have to seriously weigh any step that led to another disruption of Queens transit service this winter.

The bus companies say they are on the verge of cutting service and even going under because city support is insufficient. The City Council is reviewing legislation that would extend the bus companies’ franchises past their pending December 31 expiration. Some of the companies say that simply extending this deadline without more funding will cause them to go under. Others say they don’t see service ending in January unless the franchise agreement lapses. 

MTR back issues:

Go to index of all Mobilizing the Region back issues