MTA

A new round of MTA Board hearings gets started this week, and the biggest flashpoint is sure to be the student MetroCard program. New York City school children depend on free and reduced fares, especially since education reforms have led more students to attend schools farther from home. Yet the state has withdrawn funding for the program and the city has allowed its contribution to remain flat since 1995.

Yesterday I received an email from the Working Families Party with the subject line "Students to confront MTA Board on MetroCard cuts." It seemed as though the WFP had surveyed the sorry state of transit finances in New York and decided that the MTA Board is a worthy target. As for the state legislature's theft of MTA funds and lawmakers' repeated failure to properly fund the transit system -- well, there was no sign that Albany is facing pressure from the WFP.

With the redesign of First and Second Avenues moving through the public review process, hundreds of regional transportation experts gathered at an NYU conference today to discuss the future of bus rapid transit in the New York region. Representatives from NYCDOT, the MTA, and the federal government all envisioned BRT as part of New York's transit future and gave a few hints as to what might come next.

Yesterday, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio organized volunteers to campaign for student MetroCards at 20 subway stations across the city. We were encouraged by his decision to focus attention on legislators in Albany, and we had one big question: What funding solutions does the public advocate envision for the recession-battered MTA and the millions of riders who count on it?

The Westchester Democrat who carried the banner for congestion pricing foes in Albany two years ago is grabbing attention with another anti-transit stance. Posing as a defender of New York City school children, Assembly member Richard Brodsky sent a letter to the MTA this week claiming that "the actual cost of free and discounted student fares is close to zero." Twenty-three of his Assembly colleagues, including New York City Democrats Jeffrey Dinowitz and Linda Rosenthal, have signed on.

The MTA’s budget picture took another turn for the worse today. The payroll tax instituted as part of last year’s funding package continues to raise far less revenue than expected. Which means that even if the extensive service cuts on the table take effect, the MTA will still have to deal with a $400 million … Continued

Select Bus Service’s new low-floor buses will make it easier for seniors to get on and off the bus. Image: Second Avenue Sagas. Last night the MTA and DOT continued their tour of East Side community boards, presenting plans for better bus service and safer streets to the Manhattan CB 11 transportation committee. Attendance was low, … Continued

Last night NYCDOT and the MTA showed their plans for enhanced bus service and safer streets on the East Side of Manhattan to the Community Board 6 transportation committee. There was no vote, but the meeting was a chance to see how ideas like separated bike lanes and bus bulbs play in the type of public forum that, typically, is slow to embrace change.

A potential configuration for the Nostrand Avenue SBS Route. Image: NYCDOT. As Elana reported earlier today, the Obama Administration’s 2011 budget includes $28 million for the Nostrand Avenue Select Bus Service project. The announcement should help build momentum for a high-priority transit project set to launch in 2012. Nostrand Avenue SBS would ply the B44 … Continued