Transit Funding

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.

The fight over how to fund the MTA's next capital plan is just starting to heat up, with worries over disappearing federal dollars, ever-expanding debt, and proposals for new revenue sources. Before the funding discussion gets going in earnest, a new report from the Citizens Budget Commission [PDF] begs the region's transportation policymakers to take a step back and consider a more fundamental question: Does this plan prioritize the right things?

Without a commitment from the state to close the $15.2 billion gap in the MTA's capital program, the cost of a MetroCard is likely to spike as the MTA adds to its cumbersome debt load, according to a new report from Comptroller Tom DiNapoli [PDF]. The warning comes as Governor Andrew Cuomo and the legislature begin the very early stages of negotiations over funding the capital plan, which maintains, upgrades, and expands the transit system.