Michael Bloomberg’s appearance at recent MTA fare hike hearings was a rare one for a NYC mayor. It showed the seriousness of the problem, and the impact it could have on the mayor’s public standing as the city gears up for city-wide elections in 2005. Although the governor holds more sway over the MTA, public ire over unpopular transit policy decisions is often focused on the mayor. An informal poll recently conducted in subway stations by amNY columnist Joe Rappaport found that most people with an opinion (75% of those asked) held the MTA responsible for transit financial problems, but the mayor was in second place with over 10% of riders approached blaming him. The rest allotted responsibility to Governor Pataki, President Bush and "government" in general.

Bloomberg’s remarks at the hearings also testified to the power of the mayor’s pulpit. After the mayor told the MTA to "trim the fat" at back-to-back hearings, newspapers echoed the theme for over a week, discovering big motor pools at the MTA’s bridges and tunnels unit and an oversized legal department in the transit headquarters.

Reducing expenses like those is probably fine, but the problem with the tired "do more with less" theme is that such cuts probably would amount to less that 1% of the transit budget problem. The MTA needs billions to build new projects and maintain its enormous system. It needs hundreds of millions a year to run it. New Yorkers need the mayor to propose a plan to push Governor Pataki and state legislative leaders to meet these real needs.

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