The MTA sucks
As I made my way to my first day at a new job, I squeezed through an overcrowded platform to get to the L train. I avoided a leaky pipe that was dripping slowly but surely into a growing puddle. This would be just the first hurdle I faced as I journeyed towards Manhattan. Millions of people like me are often stuffed like sardines into poorly maintained trains that are unkempt, smelly, hot and rarely on time. Today was no exception, as I was very, very late to the orientation at my new job.
It’s a poorly kept secret that the entire system is a mess and desperately needs new tracks, trains, signals, and platforms (as well as deep scrubbing). All these issues, if handled responsibly, would go a long way towards making passengers like me a bit less queasy during our commute.
According to a Daily News survey, a total of 74 percent of subway-riders run late to their jobs. 13 percent claim that they are losing wages. Two percent were fired because of their MTA-related latenesses. Over the years, the MTA has performed poorly in regards to maintenance. In addition, the aging tracks and signals only heighten the problem. It is not abnormal for delayed signal changes to hold up trains for 10 to 30 minutes. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo still fails to repair the train system that the riders must deal with daily.
Why is the MTA totally broke?
The MTA has a $15 billion annual operating budget. But, 33 percent goes to employees’ payroll, healthcare, and financial debts. The MTA cannot keep to their budget plan. At this rate, their next stop is a financial disaster.
Already cash-strapped, the agency needs at least $16 billion to make the necessary repairs and renewals. There’s hardly any room for capital growth, and with $40 billion in debt to the state, the agency cannot fund its five-year capital projects. Cuomo constantly shoots down the MTA’s request for more money, although the city’s previous mayors expanded infrastructure while increasing their capital projects.
Cuomo shot down the MTA’s request for money from the state, believing that the city should be funding the repair and capital financing needs of the MTA. According to the MTA’s 2017-2020 budget, repair costs increase every year. The new MTA president, Andy Byford, has outlined a five-year plan to modernize five subway lines. Byford exaggerates when he says that, in five years, he can install modern signaling and newer tracks with the current budget. The MTA budget shows no room for these projects. Unless it gets an outside loan.
Most of New York City’s elite class do not take the subway. Instead, they rely on taxis, ride-shares or private drivers to travel to the city instead. Cuomo and Byford seem to pay attention, and ride the metro, only when re-election time comes. Or for a photo-op.
What are they doing?
The MTA cannot accomplish their reconstruction goals given the limited timeframe, a total of 100 million daily riders, and a 24/7 transit schedule. To meet the cost of repairs, the MTA is planning to raise the fare in both 2019 and 2020. By 2020, the fare could be $3.25. But the fare hike won’t meet the demands of the budget in time for the needed repairs. The MTA union tries to counterbalance the fare hikes by offering affordable MetroCards for low-income residents.
New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio allocated $3 billion to the MTA for the repairs. But this small amount of money cannot cover the huge repair costs. The state has sought to save money by downsizing the MTA workforce. But there has been pushback by the MTA Union, TWU Local 100. The union handles daily operations and maintains the tracks and platform. Every day, the union removes five tons of garbage and waste.
Only through better budget-management, and, most likely, generous endowments, can the MTA hope to cover the cost of their expenditures and to maintain their operating budget without facing bankruptcy.
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