Needs $ 16,2 Billion: Crisis Threatens New York Metro

MTA officials warn that the New York City subway will face a tough time and are asking for $ 16,2 billion in coronavirus aid. Writes about it NY Daily News.

Forty years of hard-won metro progress will be lost to the coronavirus pandemic if the federal government does not help, MTA officials said.

If the bad old days do return, passengers should expect an increase in train crime and regular mechanical breakdowns.

“The MTA is losing $ 200 million a week,” said Pattiric Foy, head of transportation for the city. "We spend about $ 300 million a week running the department."

In March, the MTA received about $ 4 billion from the federal government in coronavirus aid. But officials from the Transit Authority say the money will run out by the end of the month and will need another $ 3,9 billion to cover the damage.

The MTA also said they need to find $ 5,8 billion to stay afloat in 2021, another $ 3,4 billion in 2022, $ 1,7 billion in 2023 and $ 1,9 billion in 2024. ...

According to officials, without the help of Congress, the budget deficit by the end of 2024 will be $ 16,2 billion.

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Worse, the MTA will not be able to pay for its $ 51,5 billion overhaul plan scheduled for 2020-2024, which includes signal upgrades, new coaches, buses and other modernization programs.

“Think of the 1970s metro, when there was no investment, and the aftermath that took so long to clean up,” said Janno Lieber, who leads the ambitious capital plan as MTA's chief development officer.

Lieber said a poorly functioning metro could hinder the city's economic recovery.

“We cannot go back to that time,” Lieber said. "We need help from Congress."

MTA officials have frozen nearly all projects covered by the overhaul plan since March, including critical repairs to keep the subway system operational. The agency has the option to borrow money originally earmarked for this work to cover its day-to-day expenses, but officials believe this will cause severe long-term problems.

Even if another round of federal funding is adopted, it won't be enough to cover the financial blow caused by the sharp drop in transit passenger traffic and tax revenues in the coming years.

A report by consulting firm McKinsey and Co. showed an even gloomier picture for the future of public transportation in New York - passenger traffic will not return to pre-pandemic levels until at least 2024.

This means that the MTA's budget deficit will not be able to close for half a century or longer, as transit tariffs and tolls cover about half of the agency's $ 17 billion annual operating budget.

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Congress has been slow to push through bills that MTA honchos hopes will include some of the assistance the agency needs. The House of Democrats bailout bill passed in May includes $ 3,9 billion for the MTA. The Republican-controlled Senate is currently trying to draft its own relief bill, which may or may not include funding for this major shipping company.

Meanwhile, MTA officials said they will try to squeeze savings from every corner of the department. Foy stressed that “everything is on the table” when it comes to cuts.

Officials have already identified $ 2024 billion in savings by 1,34 through reductions in external consultant contracts and reductions in overtime, but did not offer any specific details on how these savings will be achieved.

If Congress does not receive $ 16,2 billion over the next four years, officials said they would consider sharply increasing tariffs and cutting services.

“We don’t want to do this, but we have to revise them,” said Robert Foran, MTA's chief financial officer. "The lack of additional federal funds is something we will have to pay attention to to get us out of this financial crisis."

Foy wants to see what's going on in Congress before moving forward with the painful cuts.

The MTA board has scheduled an emergency meeting for August, a month when it usually does not hold any meetings.