MTA Approves 2009 Doomsday Budget
One of most common phrases used of late on this blog & across many on the net was “Doomsday Budget”. The proposed 2009 budget was considered of the doomsday type due to the drastic fare increases & service cuts that would face riders starting in early 2009. Six days ago the MTA Board officially approved the 2009 budget which would kick in unless the recommendations of the Ravitch Commission are implemented. Here is the press release they sent out via e-mail last Wednesday:
The Board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today approved the agency’s budget for 2009, including service cuts and a 23% increase in revenue from fares and tolls. These measures were necessary to balance the budget and close a $1.2 billion deficit. Agency officials and board members expressed hope that the recommendations of the Commission appointed by Governor Paterson and chaired by Richard Ravitch would be implemented to return the MTA to stable fiscal footing and eliminate the need for these measures.
“Today we fulfilled our requirement to adopt a balanced budget within the constraints of existing resources, and those resources are simply not great enough,” said H. Dale Hemmerdinger, MTA Chairman. “Our fervent hope is that available resources will grow in the coming months, so that this budget can be amended before it is implemented.”
“I have called this budget draconian, severe, and extremely painful, and it is all of those things,” said Elliot G. Sander, MTA Executive Director and CEO. “We are deeply appreciative of Governor Paterson for convening the Ravitch Commission and of the Governor and Mayor Bloomberg for supporting its recommendations. The transit system is the engine that powers the state’s economy. Implementing the Ravitch recommendations will secure its future and act as a stimulus bill for New York State, and I hope our legislators will act quickly.”
The budget closes a $1.2 billion deficit caused by plummeting tax revenues, higher fuel costs and elevated debt service obligations. In anticipation of pending deficits, the MTA undertook numerous cost-cutting measures beginning last year, including integration of its three bus companies, consolidation of back office functions and a 6% reduction in controllable costs over four years. With the vast majority of the agency’s staff devoted to service, operations and maintenance (only 7 percent are in administration), however, the impact of the recent economic crisis could not be covered without service cuts and fare/toll increases.
To bridge the gap, each MTA agency cut an additional 4.7%, including at least 5% of managerial costs. Proposed service reductions were identified because they could be implemented without compromising safety or security, and still provide MTA customers with alternative options for reaching their destination.
“As bad as the situation is, it would have been worse if not for efficiencies and administrative cuts initiated by the agency presidents and exhaustively reviewed by the Board, which then pushed us even harder to identify more savings,” said Sander. “We will pursue these efficiencies no matter what happens with the Ravitch Commission’s recommendations.”
The remaining deficit was made up by a 23% increase in the revenue yield from fares and tolls beginning in June 2009. This increase is projected to generate approximately $670 million in 2009. Hearings will be held beginning in January on the fare and toll increases and service cuts as required by law.
Lets hope our elected officials find a way to starve off this “doomsday” budget from becoming a nightmare on millions of commuters. With how bad the economy is, the last thing we need is huge fare increases. So Richard Brodsky, do you plan on doing something about this besides blowing hot air to get camera time? This is your chance to get the job done along with fellow elected officials from throughout the region.
xoxo Transit Blogger
- Our Doomsday Might Come March 25th
- MTA’s Doomsday Scenario?
- Too Little Too Late Might Be The Story For The Ravitch Commission Report
- MTA’s Preliminary 2009 Budget & Four Year Financial Plan
- Local Official Says Don’t Bother Proposing East River Bridge Tolls
NYC Transit Starts Anti Scratchiti/Advertising Pilot Program
A few days ago the New York Times ran a piece which picked up on a story that originally appeared in The Gothamist. The story referred to the anti scratchiti/advertising pilot program that MTA New York City Transit has started. The program calls for ads to cover up the windows inside the subway cars to discourage vandals from destroying them with graffiti. Let me first share a part of the New York Times piece written by Jennifer Lee:
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority continues to find new ways to rent its subway real estate to advertisers. Joining the tunnels, station stairs, columns, subway insides, subway outsides, station turnstiles: subway windows.
As Gothamist pointed out last week, red Coca-Cola ads are now covering a number of subway windows, as part of a 30-day pilot program. They are being used on a single eight-car A train where four of the cars have ads covering their large windows (though not their door panes). None of the windows on the other four cars are covered.
Despite the M.T.A. budget shortfall, transit officials say that advertising revenue is not the main motivation for the program. Instead, the sprawling ads have a practical purpose. The first is to reduce what officials call “scratchiti,” or scratched graffiti on the windows.
Click here for the complete article.
I must say this is a terrible idea. I understand & applaud the MTA for looking at ways to reduce the destruction of their property while also bringing in revenue at the same time. However there is a time & place where you have to realize that the overall safety of your riders is more important than saved destruction & new revenue.
I have not had the chance to ride this specific A train that is being tested out with the ads. However from the initial pictures I have had the chance to view, it looks dangerous. The MTA claims there are no safety concerns as riders can see in & out of the windows. However regardless of what they say, one can safely assume that this is a case for legitimate concern for safety & convenience.
If I am standing on the platform, I would like to be able to get a clear view of the car I might soon enter. I do so to not only determine where I could potentially find a seat but have the ability to scope who is in the car itself. If my vibes tell me that one car has some questionable characters, I would be more inclined to enter a different car. Even if I could see through these ads like they claim, I know it would not be as clear of a view as a normal car window.
I feel that overall this program poses too much of a potential security threat along with a sense of uneasiness due to the perceived lack of visibility. I hope they find a better way to raise revenue along with preventing scratchiti as this is not the best solution.
xoxo Transit Blogger
- MTA Continues With Its Ambitious Advertising Plan
- The 5 Produces More Of The Same
- MTA Cutting Its Budget By $61M
- Ravitch Commission Report Reactions
- Sorry B, Straphangers Will C You Later…
Finally! My Thoughts On The Ravitch Report
19 days ago the Ravitch Commission issued its complete report to Gov. Patterson with solutions to help fund the MTA this year & beyond with dependable revenue streams. Ever since the report was released, I had promised to offer a complete opinion on it. I apologize for not getting to this or any other news sooner. I have been extremely busy running my businesses & working on a new project. However I want to get things back & running smoothly here.
So I finally had the chance to read the complete report over the weekend. I must say I am disappointed with the report as I expect more considering the time given for it & the panel responsible for coming up with proposals. I also was not thrilled that it took months to lay out some pretty obvious points. This is not the kind of report I was expecting.
I would like to start with the most obvious part which stated:
The Time to Act is Now: There is an urgent need to act now to address the financial health
of the MTA. Barring action, the MTA Board will have no recourse but to impose double
digit fare and toll increases and service cuts effective in early 2009 in order to balance its
books. At the same time action should be taken to put into place a new, fully funded five-
year capital program that can provide for badly needed economic stimulus for the State and
the region.
Thanks captain obvious! The next portion focused on the “Regional Mobility Tax” which is a shiny way to disguise what is nothing more than a new corporate tax which will do more harm than good in the long run. I will copy & paste my thoughts on this proposal from an earlier entry:
As far as that is concerned, I feel it is a bad idea. While the proposed amount of 1/3 of 1 percent seems low, I can envision many companies using this as an excuse to layoff workers. If they do not choose to do that, they might just relocate outside of the areas that the MTA serves. The latter scenario could have a good/bad impact depending on what state you are in.
If the state was to implement this payroll tax, other states could use this as an opportunity to encourage businesses to relocate with less overall cost to them. Our economy is in a recession that will probably last for quite awhile so don’t think for one second that companies would not jump at such an offer if it was presented by other states nearby.
Seriously who in their right mind would consider new taxes when our economy is in a steady downturn? Basic economics tell you that doing such a thing is never a good idea & that hasn’t changed. With our economy in such a downturn, we should be encouraging companies to create jobs, not give them a free pass to cut them. As I said the amount on paper sounds low but this would cost a lot more in the long run.
So we basically raise taxes during an economic downturn, CHECK!
Impact real estate prices, CHECK!
Encourage companies to either relocate, layoff employees, create less jobs, or all 3, CHECK!
So to sum it up an idea of a payroll tax is so bad it is starting to make congestion pricing look attractive to me, & we all know how I feel about that!
The next portion focused on the creation of the MTA Capital Finance Authority. This subsidiary would be in control of the funds obtained from the Regional Mobility Tax. The report says “The creation of the CFA will not require new personnel or financial resources.” Even if this is true, I think creating a subsidiary is nothing but further adding to the layers of management of some sort within the agency. They should be able to properly manage funds without the need to create a subsidiary.
The next proposal called for a regular cycle of fair & toll increases. Yes, this is a great idea to win over the lawmakers in Albany & your riding public. I have read or heard different people share the opinion that the NYC Subway is still a great value even if the fares were increased. While the point has some validity to it considering the 24×7 nature of our system, at some point the value will run out compared to the quality of the service we received. I don’t see how a regular cycle of increases would prevent the value from just vanishing altogether.
While the days of the MTA being in good financial standing are a long way off, shouldn’t they factor in a way of rewarding their ridership base. If your financial outlook is positive, why should you even consider a fare or toll increase? Would one really be a necessity or would it just be used to serve the purpose of having a “regular cycle” of increases. When will enough be enough?
The next proposal called for cashless tolling on the East River & Harlem River bridges. While I do not completely support this as the first course of action, it makes more sense than such ideas as a new corporate tax.
Now we move onto yet another common sense recommendation which called for an improvement in bus service throughout the region. I did not need to wait months to hear or read something I have known for years. The MTA should do all it can to improve bus service as if used properly can be a vital part to a thriving transit infrastructure.
The next proposal focuses on strengthening the governance of the MTA itself. I completely agree with the mandate that all MTA Board members should have relevant experience in transportation, business management, finance, management of large capital projects, labor relations or other activities central to the mission of the MTA. I feel this is a common sense approach that should have always been in place since day 1.
An increase in accountability & transparency formed the next proposal in the report. I feel strongly about this as for years the MTA has continued to show a decrease in this area. Anyway that they can show improved performance in these areas is something we can all support.
Overall they would like to see a one time use of the Regional Mobility Tax to help fund the operating budget while keeping fare hikes at 8%.
In the end, I will stand by my stance that this report was a letdown. Maybe I expected too much from the commission.I truly felt as a whole, they could come up with some pretty strong ideas that the majority of people would support. However in the end it was typical band aid or patchwork solutions disguised as long term beneficial revenue streams.
xoxo Transit Blogger
- Gov. Patterson Voices Support For Ravitch Commission Plan
- Ravitch Commission Plan Is Finally Here
- Congestion Pricing
- Mayor Bloomberg Says City Bridges Are Not For Sale
- Sorry Eric, Try Again!
Service Diversions 12-13
Let me first apologize for not updating the service diversion page last week. My feed to the service alerts did not update since the MTA changed its service alert pages. I have now taken care of it & should have no further issues (hopefully). Anyhow…..
I have just updated the service diversions page with the latest scheduled diversions for this weekend & next week (and beyond in some cases). Don’t forget to check in for any changes to the page. I also suggest printing out a copy of the page to use while riding the system. Have a safe & wonderful weekend!
xoxo Transit Blogger
- The MTA Wants You To “Know Before You Go”
- Question Of The Week 10/15/07 - 10/21/07
- Question Of The Week 09-24-07 - 09-30-07
- New Weekend Train On The Pascack Valley Line
- Disturbing Yet Not Surprising Video…..
J & Z Supposedly Show Slight Improvement
Jamaica Center bound J Train entering the Marcy Avenue station. Resized photo courtesy of Eye On Transit.
A new year has pretty much come & gone but the results barely changed for the 
& 
which showed only a slight improvement in their overall Rider Report Card grade. The duo earned a C- in 2007 & finished with a C this year. Lets get straight to the results starting with the:
J & Z Train Riders’ Top 10 Priorities; 2007 priority rank will be in ( ):
01. Reasonable wait times for trains (1)
02. Adequate room on board at rush hour (4)
03. Minimal delays during trips (2)
04. Sense of security in stations (7)
05. Sense of security on trains (3)
06. Cleanliness of stations (9)
07. Working elevators and escalators in stations (10)
08. Cleanliness of subway cars (8)
09. Station announcements that are easy to hear (6)
10. Comfortable temperature in subway cars (12)
———-
Now here is the entire order of J & Z train riders’ priorities 2007 priority rank will be in ( ):
01. Reasonable wait times for trains (1)
02. Adequate room on board at rush hour (4)
03. Minimal delays during trips (2)
04. Sense of security in stations (7)
05. Sense of security on trains (3)
06. Cleanliness of stations (9)
07. Working elevators and escalators in stations (10)
08. Cleanliness of subway cars (8)
09. Station announcements that are easy to hear (6)
10. Comfortable temperature in subway cars (12)
11. Train announcements that are easy to hear (5)
12. Station announcements that are informative (6)
13. Courtesy and helpfulness of station personnel (14)
14. Availability of MetroCard Vending Machines (16)
15. Ease of use of subway turnstiles (17)
16. Train announcements that are informative (13)
17. Lack of scratchitti in subway cars (15)
18. Lack of graffiti in stations (21)
19. Signs in stations that help riders find their way (18)
20. Lack of graffiti in subway cars (19)
21. Signs in subway cars that help riders find their way (20)
———-
Now here is the graded breakdown for all 21 categories; 2007 grade in ( ):
01. Minimal delays during trips C+ (C)
02. Reasonable wait times for trains C (C-)
03. Adequate room on board at rush hour C- (C-)
04. Sense of security in stations C (C-)
05. Sense of security on trains C (C-)
06. Working elevators and escalators in stations C- (D+)
07. Signs in stations that help riders find their way C+ (C+)
08. Signs in subway cars that help riders find their way C+ (C)
09. Cleanliness of stations C- (D+)
10. Cleanliness of subway cars C- (D+)
11. Station announcements that are easy to hear C- (D)
12. Station announcements that are informative C- (D+)
13. Train announcements that are easy to hear C (D)
14. Train announcements that are informative C (D+)
15. Lack of graffiti in stations C (C)
16. Lack of graffiti in subway cars C+ (C)
17. Lack of scratchitti in subway cars C (C)
18. Courtesy and helpfulness of station personnel C (C)
19. Comfortable temperature in subway cars C+ (C+)
20. Ease of use of subway turnstiles B- (C+)
21. Availability of MetroCard Vending Machines B- (B-)
Where do I begin with these results. I guess the first part is to once again note a decrease in the amount of responses received. Last year over 58,000 report cards were handed out according to NYC Transit & they only received approximately 2000 responses. This year the total amount given out was not reported but the response total was. They received only 1,371 responses with 1,304 coming by mail & 67 via the internet.
The next issue I have to question is the model used to come up with the overall grade. How could the & have shown an overall grade improvement when many of the riders’ priorities rose spots this year. The overall wait for trains stayed the same, adequate room on board rose 2 spots, & minimal delays only fell 1 spot. A real concern is the fact that 4 key categories all involving the stations themselves rose 3 spots each from 2007.
The categories in question are security in stations, cleanliness in stations, & graffiti in stations. Yes, the line does not go through the best of neighborhoods & no one would argue that. However even with that in mind, I would be very concerned if I was the MTA in seeing such a sharp rise in the same category. Maybe a shift in priorities is in order to help deal with the station issues.
I am not shocked to see riders feel that the lines need more service & better room on board. I know many who depend on these lines daily & those sentiments are echoed by all of them on a very regular basis. Outside of rush hour, service on the line can be extremely spotty. During the rush, service will sometimes fall into the same patterns which is unacceptable considering the ridership growth. If the MTA wants to help encourage the use of mass transit, they have to do the best job possible in providing the quality of service to match ridership.
Overall I will still question how they feel this line improved. I know that 10 of the 21 priorities showed an improvement from last year in terms of rank. However many of those priorities are not the main ones that mean the most to riders. Riders want better service, & a quality experience in terms of room while getting this service.
While it is nice to see an improvement in train car announcements, that should be a given considering the equipment upgrade on the & from its previous stock. So it will take more than this kind of improvement to bring out the best in the J & Z. So in my opinion I will call b.s. on this grade as the realistic performance & results in key categories say that it has not improved.
In the end, I will have to question whether the MTA should continue doing these Rider Report Cards. The results are not really showing much improvement. I understand that some things are out of the agency’s control in terms of what can be done to make improvements. However with all of that, the riders are just not responding to these report cards. So far every line that has been graded as seen a decrease in the amount of responses. This tells me either of 2 things. The marketing of these cards is not being done correctly or the riders just don’t care. I feel it is more of the former when you really think about it.
xoxo Transit Blogger
- Staten Island Railway Is No Different
- So That’s Where You Have Been Hiding
- The 5 Produces More Of The Same
- M Shows Slight Improvement Supposedly!
- Ehh Shuttle, You’re Average!
The 1 Is The Next Line To Be Graded
According to the MTA’s New York City Transit, the 
is the next line to be graded as part of the 2008 Rider Report Cards. Here are the complete details from the press release:
In our continuing effort to solicit feedback from our customers, MTA New York City Transit is again distributing Rider Report Cards throughout the system. Riders on the 1 are next in line of NYC Transit’s over five million daily subway customers asked to rate the progress of their line since the initial round of report cards was distributed in July 2007.
The report cards are being distributed to riders during the morning rush hours from Tuesday, December 16th through Thursday, December 18th. The cards will be handed out at several different stations along the line each day over all three days. Grades will be used to identify rider preferences and to gauge how much improvement customers along the 1 line have noticed since last year’s report card.
Again, the Rider Report Card will ask subway riders to grade 21 specific areas of service from an A (Excellent) to an F (Unsatisfactory). Among the areas riders will grade include: car and station cleanliness, safety, security, quality of announcements, and the courtesy and helpfulness of front line customer service staff. Riders will also assign an overall grade for 1 service. From this list of 21 service attributes, riders are also going to be asked to rank the top three improvements they would like to see made to this line.
The Rider Report Card is once again being distributed in a mailer format, designed to be returned at no cost to the rider. Customers will also have the option of completing the survey on-line, on the MTA website at www.mta.info/nyct/index.html, where it is available in 3 languages: English, Spanish and Chinese. From the time the survey begins, riders will have two weeks to mail in their response or to complete the survey online. Rider Report Card results are posted on line for riders to review once they have been tabulated.
Report cards are being distributed between 7:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. at each station. The schedule for distribution of Rider Report Cards along the 1 line is as follows:
• Tuesday, December 16th – South Ferry, Rector Street, Franklin Street, Canal Street, Houston Street, Christopher Street-Sheridan Square and 18th Street.• Wednesday, December 17th – 23rd Street, 28th Street, 50th Street, 66th Street-Lincoln Center, 79th Street, 86th Street and 103rd Street.
• Thursday, December 18th – Cathedral Parkway-110th Street, 116th Street-Columbia University, 125th Street, 137th Street-City College, 145th Street, 157th Street, 181st Street, 191st Street, Dyckman Street, 207th Street, 215th Street, Marble Hill-225th Street, 231st Street, 238th Street and Van Cortlandt Park-242nd Street.
xoxo Transit Blogger
- The R Is The Next Line To Be Graded
- The F Is The Next Line To Be Graded
- The E Is The Next Line To Be Graded
- N Train Rider Report Card Handout
- NYC Transit To Distribute Rider Report Cards On The M
$104 Monthly MetroCard Might Be In Our Future
Years ago when monthly MetroCard users like myself were getting the best bang for our commuting buck, we would have never thought the day would come that we would have to pay over $100 for a unlimited monthly. However the times have changed & as usual the riders will be forced to shoulder the burden of the cost. The Independent Budget Office (IBO) at the request of the Straphangers Campaign released a report about the MTA’s finances & what the cost would be to riders. The Straphangers Campaign issued a press release to talk about the report:
The NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign today released an analysis of the possible impact of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s troubled finances on subway, bus and commuter fares. The review was conducted by the New York City Independent Budget Office at the request of the Straphangers Campaign.
The IBO forecast that under the MTA’s current financial plan, the base city subway and bus fare could rise to “at least” $2.50 in 2009 from $2.00 currently. The cost of a 30-day unlimited MetroCard could jump to $104 from the current $81 and the 7-day MetroCard could rise to $32 from the current $25.
The MTA’s financial plan calls for a 23% greater yield from revenues coming from the farebox. The IBO calculated that this would in turn require an actual 28% increase in fares including the base fare and all fare discounts. The higher percentage increase calculated by the IBO takes account of likely loss of ridership due to the fare hike.
Unlimited-ride MetroCards account for 50% of all trips, according to the MTA. 32% of trips are taken on 30-day MetroCards; 7-day MetroCards account for 15.5% of all trips.
“Transit fares will go through the roof and service through the floor unless Governor Paterson and state legislative leaders come to the rescue of transit riders,” said Gene Russianoff, staff attorney for the Straphangers Campaign.
Click here for the complete press release.
Click here for the IBO’s initial report to the Straphangers Campaign. (PDF)
Click here for a followup to the Straphangers Campaign by the IBO.
I know a fare hike is coming but the thought of paying over $100 for an unlimited monthly is tough. While the value is still there for a very active commuter, it sure is not a welcome sight considering everything else is going up except the most important thing, income!
xoxo Transit Blogger
- Metrocard Machines Partially To Blame?
- Speaking Of Numbers…..
- NYC Transit EasyPayXPress MetroCard
- Ehh $2.25……
- Straphangers Campaign Calls Out The Government
MTA Continues To Squander Real Estate Assets
This viewpoint is shared by many including someone who hopes to be the next New York City Comptroller, Brooklyn City Councilman David Yassky. The agency has many real estate assets in its control & has a reputation for letting their potential go to waste whether in terms of use, leasing, or selling.
One of the major assets that many are frustrated with in how the MTA manages it is 370 Jay Street. This property was called a “blight on the face of downtown Brooklyn” by Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz a little under two months ago. Julia Vitullo Martin of the New York Daily News looks at this issue more in this report:
Before the state raises everyone’s taxes to support the bloated Metropolitan Transportation Authority, shouldn’t we first insist that the MTA take advantage of any and all underused real estate that it already owns or controls under long-term leases?
One of Mayor Bloomberg’s most important initiatives in his first term was to direct city agencies to identify and analyze all real estate holdings in order to sell off underdeveloped properties. The idea was to protect neighborhoods from the blight that inevitably accompanies vacant land while letting the city reap real estate’s financial rewards.
Alas, the MTA is not under the mayor’s jurisdiction. Brooklyn City Councilman David Yassky, who estimates that the MTA owns some 14,000 buildings worth more than $1 billion, has repeatedly asked for an accounting of the value and use of these properties. The MTA refuses - even though it has the data. In 2004, it commissioned exactly this analysis from the private consulting groups of CB Richard Ellis and Massey Knakal Realty Services. The information has remained undisclosed.
The Downtown Brooklyn Partnership argues that if the MTA were to net-lease just eight of 370 Jay St.’s 13 floors to a private developer, it would save $100 million while helping revitalize the neighborhood.
Click here for the complete report.
I happen to agree with many who feel that the MTA squanders the potential of its real estate assets. While managing the assets better would not fill the budget deficit by itself, it is just one of many things the MTA could do to help the cause. We know that Albany controls the purse strings & is mainly to blame for the MTA’s finances being in the shape that they are in. However as I have stated many times, the MTA is not completely blameless either.
The agency has never been the role model for sound financial decisions. They continue to preach about the riding public having to help share the burden yet we have to see the complete breakdown of what they are bringing to the table. Instead of recycling the same rhetoric, how about showing what you will do. While you are it, stop squandering the potential of the real estate assets you own!
