Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Transit Funding

Broad Coalition Urges Cuomo to Enact Transit Lockbox

By Noah Kazis and Ben Fried | Aug 15, 2011 | 6 Comments

If not for Albany’s theft of $260 million in dedicated transit tax revenues over the past two years, the sweeping service cuts enacted by the MTA in 2010 might have been avoided. Transit riders can’t afford a repeat. With the MTA on track to take on even more debt, squeezing its operating budget for years […]

Q-Poll: NYC Residents Want More Funds For MTA By Nearly 2-1 Margin

By Noah Kazis | Aug 12, 2011 | 5 Comments

The idea of increasing state funding for the MTA is popular in New York City, according to a new Quinnipiac poll released yesterday. Looking at the MTA service region — NYC plus its suburbs — more people want to see additional funding going to transit. Statewide, support for increased MTA funding is slightly lower than […]

Cutting “Waste and Inefficiency” Won’t Eliminate the MTA’s Budget Problems

By Noah Kazis | Aug 10, 2011 | 10 Comments

Last week, the city’s Independent Budget Office released a report on the MTA’s revenue structure [PDF] which has been getting a bit of play. At Second Avenue Sagas, Ben Kabak focused on the report’s main thesis: that the volatility of dedicated taxes and fees threatens the financial stability of the transit agency. Steven Higashide of […]

Remembering Hugh Carey, the Man Who Saved New York’s Transit System

By Noah Kazis | Aug 8, 2011 | 3 Comments

Hugh Carey, governor of New York from 1975 to 1982, died yesterday at the age of 92. Even in an office held by the likes of Al Smith, Franklin Roosevelt, Nelson Rockefeller and Mario Cuomo, Carey was a giant; Mayor Ed Koch, who served at the same time as Carey, called him the greatest governor […]

Funding Assumptions in MTA Capital Program Already Look Like Fantasies

By Noah Kazis | Aug 4, 2011 | 2 Comments

The MTA capital budget is risky enough as advertised: It requires putting $7 billion of repairs and system expansions on transit riders’ credit card. But the total tab may end up being much bigger, because in addition to billions in borrowing, the funding plan relies on a series of highly optimistic assumptions. Just one week […]

Silver on MTA Funding Plan: Wait Until 2012 Budget Debate

By Noah Kazis | Aug 1, 2011 | 2 Comments

The current MTA capital budget is very bad news for transit riders, who are being asked to shoulder $7 billion in debt all on their own. Where can the 8 million daily riders who count on the MTA turn for help? Not Washington: The just-negotiated debt ceiling deal is likely to mean more cuts to […]

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