MTA revokes perks for board members

No more free rides for current MTA board members - unless it’s on official business.
That was the decision the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Executive Board reached on Wednesday, June 25 after weeks of strong criticism in the press for the excessive perks and free rides current board members receive. The executive board also voted to rescind all free passes from retired MTA board members.
“This was a no-brainer for the MTA,” said Queens City Councilmember Eric Gioia, who has been a frequent critic of the transportation agency. “Giving away thousands of dollars in perks at a time when they claim to be financially strapped is absurd.”
During the past few weeks, the MTA began reevaluating its policy after New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said the board members’ free passes were actually a violation of the law.
“The Board’s sense of entitlement is what leads New Yorkers to rightly ask who is on their side at MTA headquarters,” Gioia said. “Judging by some of the comments that have come from the MTA, I think it’s a fair question.”
Meanwhile, the MTA is facing significant budget gaps for this year because of lesser than expected real estate revenues as well as larger gaps looking forward due to cost overruns from construction projects.
The agency is already looking to cut back some of its capital projects included in its 2005-2009 plans and turning to other resources to increase funds.
“The MTA has a credibility problem as it asks the state, the city and possibly its riders and motorists to come to its financial rescue,” said Gene Russianoff, Senior Attorney for the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG)/Straphangers Campaign. “The public’s skepticism has been fueled by real events, from the MTA’s spending $400 million in cost overruns for its building in lower Manhattan to the on-again, off-again service enhancements.”
If the MTA’s financial outlook does not improve, executives have said that another fare hike could be on the horizon next year.
“We remain hopeful that revenues will rebound and subsidies will increase, but if they do not then we will, of course, have to consider fare and toll increases and/or service cuts,” MTA Executive Director Elliot Sander recently told reporters outside of MTA headquarters.