New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. today issued, “The C-Note,” his periodic column focusing on economic and budget issues affecting New York City. Today’s column is titled: “New Weight-Based Automotive Fee Will Bring Fairness to MTA Collections While Addressing Climate Change Goals.”

You can view the column by visiting www.comptroller.nyc.gov and by clicking on the ticker at the top of the home page. In previous weeks, the Comptroller addressed issues such as future city job losses, what needs to be done to meet the future economic challenges facing New York, and the importance of investing in City bonds.

In today’s column, Comptroller Thompson outlines his plan to help the MTA balance its budget and stave off a massive fare increase by introducing weight-based automotive fees and re-instating the commuter tax.  By implementing these two initiatives, the Comptroller estimates that almost $2 billion will be generated annually to go towards our subways, buses, and commuter railroads.  

The C-Note:  “New Weight-Based Automotive Fee Will Bring Fairness to MTA Collections While Addressing Climate Change Goals”

By William C. Thompson, Jr.

The Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) recently proposed a “doomsday” budget calling for a 23 percent fare hike and subway, bus and commuter line service cuts that would worsen crowding and service on most lines. This is a devastating budget proposal. Once again, New York’s transit riders are being asked to cover its budget shortfalls while the MTA also intends to cut services and delay key projects.

At a time when we are seeking to diversify our economy, we have to ask, as did one recent newspaper editorial, “What company will want to be based here if workers have to spend hours traveling between their homes and jobs?” We need a new approach that includes all stakeholders. Instead of asking subway and bus riders – who can least afford it – to dig deeper into emptier pockets for less service, we need imaginative ideas that will ensure that those who benefit from a healthy transit system pay their fair share.

Currently, residents of New York City pay a flat vehicle use tax of $30 every two years on top of weight-based State registration fees. These vehicle use fees generate $28 million annually for the City. My office is proposing a new additional weight-based, transit-dedicated assessment of $100 for vehicles weighing 2,300 pounds or less, plus 9 cents for every pound of curb weight over 2,300 pounds.

Under such a fee structure, a Toyota Yaris, a light and fuel-efficient vehicle with a curb weight of just under 2,300 pounds, would cost an additional $100 to register, while a Lincoln Navigator, one of the heaviest and least fuel-efficient vehicles with a curb weight of 6,000 pounds, would cost an additional $430 to register. My office estimates that this regional plan could potentially generate additional annual revenue of approximately $1 billion from the entire Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District, which comprises the 12 New York counties covered by the MTA.

Such additional revenue would help close the current MTA budget gap and help fund the agency’s vital 2010-2014 capital program. By raising the cost of owning a car in the MTA region, the fee would reduce auto ownership to some degree and result in some additional parking slots. A weight-based fee would also encourage fuel efficiency by providing an incentive to purchase lighter, more fuel-efficient vehicles. In reducing carbon emissions, we would also help New York clean its air.

The fee could be phased in over time, allowing residents to take the fee into account when they consider buying a car. New Yorkers who own cars generally have higher incomes. Our proposal is thus fairer to New Yorkers with lower incomes for whom an increase in the transit fare is most damaging. To address concerns that residents might choose to register vehicles in other jurisdictions to evade weight-based fees, we could create special parking zones in New York City residential neighborhoods in which only vehicles registered in the City could park overnight.   

I have submitted this new proposal to the Commission on Metropolitan Transportation Authority Financing, chaired by former MTA Chairman Richard Ravitch, which releases its recommendations on December 5th.

I also believe it is time to reinstate the commuter tax. Since its repeal in 1999, the City has lost a source of revenue that could have generated more than $8.2 billion to date. A restoration of the commuter tax could add more than $760 million annually for fiscal years 2009, 2010, and 2011.

When combined with a reinstated commuter tax, my plan could potentially generate almost $2 billion annually for our subways, buses and commuter rails to keep fares down while promoting energy independence, addressing urgent climate change goals and easing parking shortages in New York City neighborhoods. In this time of growing fiscal constraints, those are results that we all should get excited about.

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