Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Transit Funding

Taking Stock of NYC Streets and Transit at Stringer’s Transpo Conference

By Josef Szende | Nov 21, 2011 | 2 Comments

Times have changed since Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer hosted a conference on transportation reform in 2006. Five years ago, New York City appeared to be on the verge of shaking off the traffic-first approach to street engineering that had dominated city transportation policy for decades. Whispers were in the air about a push to […]

Jay Walder Came to the MTA With a Plan to Improve Transit. Will Joe Lhota?

By Noah Kazis | Oct 20, 2011 | 4 Comments

Any moment now, Governor Andrew Cuomo is expected to announce that Joe Lhota, the former budget director and deputy mayor for Rudy Giuliani, will be the next chairman of the MTA. There will be a press conference and press releases — a singular opportunity for Cuomo and Lhota to put forward their vision for the […]

Labor, Elected Officials and Community Groups Rally For Transit Lockbox

By Noah Kazis | Sep 20, 2011 | 1 Comment

Dozens of transit workers, transportation advocates and elected officials rallied on the steps of City Hall this morning to urge Governor Cuomo to sign the transit lockbox bill, which passed both houses of the legislature unanimously in June. “New York communities are not standing alone,” said TWU Local 100 President John Samuelsen. “Transit workers are […]

Fitch Downgrades MTA Debt — Interest Payments May Eat More of Your Fare

By Noah Kazis | Sep 8, 2011 | 1 Comment

Yesterday, we reported on the MTA’s ever-mounting debt load. By 2014, a new analysis from the Regional Plan Association found, debt service could be taking up a full 23 percent of the agency’s operating budget. Already, that debt is starting to catch up with transit riders. As first reported by Transportation Nation’s Andrea Bernstein, Fitch, […]

Where Does Your Fare Go? Increasingly, To Pay Off MTA Debt

By Noah Kazis | Sep 7, 2011 | 15 Comments

In 2003, labor costs dominated the MTA’s budget sheets. Just under 73 percent of the transit agency’s operating budget, which pays for day-to-day spending but not system expansions or major repairs, went to workers, according to a new analysis by the Regional Plan Association and the Empire State Transportation Alliance. By 2014, however, labor’s share […]

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Recession Forcing Cutbacks at Nearly 80 Percent of U.S. Transit Agencies

By Angie Schmitt | Aug 17, 2011 | No Comments

How bad have the past two years been for transit agencies in the United States? In a word: bad. In two words: very bad. In survey results released today [PDF], the American Public Transportation Association reports that 51 percent of transit agencies have either raised fares or reduced service since last year. Meanwhile, 79 percent […]

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