Crisis averted. The State Legislature agreed on Tuesday night, May 5 on a much-anticipated MTA bailout bill, expected to lessen massive fare hikes and avert service reductions for thousands of transit riders.
Governor David Paterson, State Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver made the announcement on Tuesday – one day after the Senate Democrats reached a tentative agreement where two Democratic holdouts from outside of the city agreed to support a bailout plan.
“This has been very difficult on the commuters of the MTA region,” Paterson said. “We can assure them this evening that there will be no surprises, that there will be no further cuts or fears about fare hikes or toll increases. We have resolved that issue this evening.”
The State Senate is expected to vote on the bill on Wednesday, May 6 and Assembly should take it up immediately after the Senate.
Some of the main components of the bailout include a 34-cent tax on every $100 of payroll, a 50-cent surcharge on cab rides and a $25 registration fee for vehicles with the entire plan expected to raise around $2.6 billion for the cash-strapped agency.
The bailout means that the MTA will hike fares only 10 percent compared to the 30 percent hikes previously discussed for the end of May. The new plan means the cost of one subway or bus ride would rise from $2 to $2.25 while a monthly MetroCard would increase from $81 to $89.
“This is a painful decision we have to make, but it is a necessary one,” said State Senator Joseph Addabbo, who represents portions of southern and western Queens.
On Tuesday, legislators spent time debating how the current bailout proposal would affect the MTA capital plan. Previous discussions in the Senate focused on only dealing with the operating budget deficit and not funding the capital program, but the agreement reached by the State Legislature includes a provision to fund maintenance and modernization in the capital plans for the next two years.
In addition to the new taxes and fees, the plan also includes a stricter auditing and monitoring system for the MTA’s finances.
“One of the things we were insisting on was an audit process that could determine some of the fiscal mismanagement that we are absolutely positive that exists in the MTA,” said Queens State Senator Toby Stavisky.
Meanwhile, many transit riders were less concerned about the long-term health of the transit system as opposed to the immediate issue of possible fare hikes.
“I mean 8 percent is much less than 30 percent so anything less than that is better,” said Joseph Franklin, who was in the Flushing Main Street No.7 subway station on Tuesday. “I really wish it wouldn’t go up at all, but we have to expect that.”
Ralph Carnegary, who takes the No.7 line and a bus everyday to get from his home in Woodside to his job in Flushing, said the proposed fare hikes were ridiculous to begin with, especially since the MTA was asking the riders to pay more for less service.
“I think it’s an atrocity to charge more for less,” Carnegary said. “Either Albany is letting them [the MTA] run amuck or there is some serious management problems at the agency.”
