Transit Funding

After an Albany legislative session that came and went without any serious effort from Governor Cuomo to address the $14 billion shortfall in the MTA's next five-year capital program, there are faint stirrings of action.

The General Contractors Association of New York, which represents heavy construction contractors, says it wants a funding solution to the $14 billion gap in the MTA's capital plan -- just not the Move NY toll reform plan that's being shopped around Albany. It's a shift in tone from the group's interest when the plan was being developed a few years ago, and a stark contrast from eight years ago, when the group was one of the biggest backers of congestion pricing.

The trickle of elected officials endorsing toll reform is starting to become more of a steady stream, and a look at who belongs to the coalition suggests that the politics of the Move NY plan are indeed different than the politics of congestion pricing.

With the election over and Albany in session, the time for tiptoeing around the $15.2 billion gap in the MTA's next five-year capital program is over. Today, three former MTA chiefs lined up to say that, one way or another, the plan must be fully funded.

Seeing shovel-ready transit projects destroyed by petty politics has been all too common the last few years (see: Scott Walker and Wisconsin high-speed rail, or Chris Christie and the ARC tunnel). Even so, this one's a doozy.

If you were hoping the release of the MTA Reinvention Commission report would be the moment when Governor Andrew Cuomo comes to his senses and makes an aggressive push to fund the region's transit system by fixing its dysfunctional tolling structure, don't hold your breath.

As the MTA capital plan funding gap has come into focus, there's been a lot of discussion about how new development can help pay for the transit service it requires. It turns out the city already has a tool that links real estate with transit improvements, but it's so limited that it's been used to fund transit upgrades only 10 times in more than three decades. For a more robust model, planners should look to San Francisco.

Post-election, the political discussion about transit funding in New York has entered a new phase. Albany can now turn its attention to the most pressing transportation issue in the state: closing the $15.2 billion gap in the MTA's next capital program. Yesterday, MTA Chair and CEO Tom Prendergast made his first public comments since the election. He said elected officials must be educated on the need for transit investment and repeated his call for new revenue sources to keep the region's trains and buses running smoothly.

Today, the City Council transportation and economic development committees held a marathon joint hearing on New York's transportation investment needs. Top staff from the MTA and NYC DOT, including Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg, fielded questions from council members for the better part of the day.