Current edition: Mobilizing the Region #487

January 24, 2005

Pataki Budget: Proposes Huge Shortfall for Transit

In his budget speech last Tuesday, Governor Pataki said he was proposing $19 billion MTA and $17 billion NY State DOT capital programs. The apparent advantage to the MTA is New York City’s $2 billion plan to extend the #7 subway line into the far West Side of midtown Manhattan, not any state initiative to boost transit funding over road spending.

Connecticut Groups Demand Better Rail, Road Funding

In Hartford last Wednesday, elected officials, environmental groups and labor advocates rallied for transportation funding to improve the state’s deteriorating roads, bridges, and transit systems. The event was convened by the CT Citizens Transportation Lobby, a Fairfield County group that emerged from Metro-North’s 2003-4 winter of woe when snow and cold idled large portions of the New Haven Line’s aging train fleet.

TEA-Never?

With TEA-21 reauthorization now more than 500 days overdue (the1998 transportation funding authorization expired on September 30^th, 2003) TEA-watchers are starting to wonder if a multi-year federal transportation bill is really in the cards. The most recent TEA-21 extension bill, the sixth so far, expires at the end of May.

SI Residents: Less NASCAR Parking

At recent community forums, Staten Island residents asked International Speedway Corp. (ISC) to further limit parking for its proposed NASCAR facility. Many Staten Island residents worry the 80,000-seat raceway will greatly worsen traffic– despite ISC’s sophisticated traffic management plan that limits car-driving fans to an 8,400 space parking lot.

Fare Hike Signal to New Jersey: Get Serious About Transit Funding

NJ Transit director George Warrington outlined a set of bus and rail fare increases last Wednesday. The would raise commuter rail and bus fares an average of 13% and the Hudson-Bergen light rail fare by 25 cents, to $1.75. The Trenton-Camden’s "introductory" $1.10 rate will give way to $1.25 fares, and Newark City subways will see a 13% hike in one way fares, but no increase for monthly passes.

NYS's Workers, Transit Cost Going Down

WageWorks, a leading private provider of pre-tax benefits for health care and commuter benefits, announced New York State will use its "NYS-Ride "program to provide commuter benefits for 35,000 executive branch employees in New York City." 

GO TO INDEX of past issues of MTR, since Fall 1994.ll M

MTR 486-January 18, 2005

MTR 485-January 10, 2005

MTR 484-December 21, 2004

MTR 483-December 13, 2004