New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. called on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to take steps to prevent a repeat of today’s subway shutdown amid severe flooding conditions.

“I urge the MTA to take this matter seriously and consider all of the New Yorkers who were inconvenienced today,” Thompson said. “These are the same New Yorkers who are expected to dig deeper into their pockets to pay higher fares over the next few years.”
“Time and again, the riding public has been inconvenienced because the State has not appropriately invested in New York City Transit’s infrastructure. Earlier this year, my office reported that the MTA’s efforts to bring the bus and subway system to a ‘State of Good Repair’ have progressed slowly and may be jeopardizing riders. Service still has not reached the levels of reliability, safety and comfort New Yorkers require and deserve. Today’s system-wide disruption indicates that there still is much more work ahead.”

Thompson noted: “The MTA is under new leadership, and I am encouraged that this leadership will demonstrate its commitment to New Yorkers by acting swiftly and decisively to prevent a disruption of this magnitude from happening again.”

Over the last five years, Comptroller Thompson has highlighted the need for the MTA and New York City Transit (NYCT) to make its financial books more transparent, issued audits revealing troubling conditions at many subway stations in the City. Just yesterday, Thompson issued a report identifying $728 million in revenue sources to help the MTA put the brakes on proposed subway and bus fare hikes.
In the report, “Putting the Brakes on the Bus and Subway Fare: Options for Eliminating Fare Increases in 2008 and 2009,” Thompson called for a series of revenue measures that could close the projected gap for 2009 without near-term fare and toll hikes and still fund proposed service enhancements and maintenance spending increases.

All of the recommended extra revenue comes from existing dedicated tax funds or subsidy programs, primarily from restoring revenue transferred from NYCT in previous years or from formula payment programs which the State has capped at levels below what NYCT is eligible to receive. You can read more about the plan at www.comptroller.nyc.gov.

Thompson also spoke up earlier this year about the imbalance of investments in New York City Transit’s capital plan. In a report, he faulted the MTA for jeopardizing the safety and security of riders by consistently delaying critical infrastructure work in New York City. Since 1982, when the first MTA Five-Year Capital Plan was issued, large disparities have emerged between the commuter railroads and NYCT in achieving what the MTA itself considers a “State of Good Repair.”

The Comptroller pointed out that while the MTA reportedly confronts substantial fiscal challenges ahead it must recognize that NYCT has been historically underfinanced and that NYCT has routinely been denied a fair share of the funding necessary to remedy longstanding and mounting infrastructure problems.

“We must demand our fair share in New York City. I understand the MTA’s concerns about escalating costs but as it moves ahead and prioritizes Core Capital projects, the MTA must acknowledge that New York City has waited long enough, and we should not be set back even further. I am hopeful that the research my office has conducted over the last several months will help the MTA move ahead in a more reasoned, balanced way.”

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