ALBANY, NY – Fare hikes, cuts to services and personnel and “long-lasting damage” would happen to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority without a federal bailout, state comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said on Tuesday in a report.
The MTA, the country’s largest transit system, faces the biggest crisis in its long history if the federal government does not come to the rescue amid the COVID-19 pandemic, DiNapoli said. The New York State team, which is part of the USA TODAY Network, reported this story.
The New York Metropolitan Area System, which includes the Metro-North Railroad through the Hudson Valley, has asked Congress for a $ 12 billion aid package, which stalled on a new plan national stimulus.
“The financial situation of the MTA is dire,” DiNapoli said in a statement.
“With the ridership declining, the debt burden rising, and no further aid likely from New York State or New York City, the MTA is in desperate need of an influx of federal funds or unprecedented reductions in services and staff will occur.
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The COVID-19 pandemic came when the MTA was already in dire financial straits, DiNapoli said.
Now the system is facing record deficits. A projected gap of $ 6.3 billion next year is more than half of MTA’s projected annual revenue – a hole that could not be filled without an injection of aid.
Overall, the MTA faces a deficit of $ 12 billion over the next four years.
The MTA received $ 4 billion from the federal CARES act earlier this year to help stem the initial slowdown in ridership, but it’s nowhere near enough to cover long-term deficits, DiNapoli wrote.
MTA faces a perilous future
When the pandemic struck in March, the MTA’s ridership stopped – both because the system was limited in service and also because all non-essential businesses were shut down for months.
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This meant few commuters into town and few in town.
The MTA provides 38% of all transit trips in the country, and more than 50% of city workers use the system while on the move.
But weekday metro and bus ridership hit their lowest levels in April: down 92% and 78%, respectively, compared to the same period in 2019.
Attendance has resumed since the state’s final reopening phase on July 20, with weekday metro and bus attendance at 76% and 42% less than the same period last year.
In addition, the MTA’s bridge and tunnel crossings were 62% lower in April compared to April 2019, but had almost returned to normal traffic in August.
For the Hudson Valley and Long Island commuter train lines, ridership was still down during the summer by nearly 80% compared to last year.
This follows a record passenger count in 2019: The Long Island rail route reached 91 million passengers last year and Metro-North reached 86.6 million.
Now, the drop in ridership means fare and toll revenues for 2020 to 2023 are expected to be $ 10 billion lower than forecast before COVID strikes, said DiNapoli, a Democrat.
As a result, the MTA warns it may have to cut metro and bus service by 40% and commuter train service by 50%.
Tariffs and toll increases, which are already expected to rise 4% in March 2021 and March 2023, may need to increase, the system warned.
Leaders call for federal help
Governor Andrew Cuomo and the MTA are urging a bailout of the state, the system, local governments and schools.
Democrats who control the US House have passed proposals that include state and local aid, but Senate Republicans have yet to agree to a deal.
The state faces its own $ 50 billion deficit over the next four years, Cuomo warned, and he has resigned himself to saying that any bailout could only come if Democrats control Congress and Joe Biden is elected president next month.
Without federal help, “You can’t close $ 50 billion without tax hikes, millionaire tax, billionaire tax, wealth tax, dramatic spending cuts, and borrowing,” Cuomo said on Sept. 29.
“If we’ve done that, you’re looking at a bad time for New York and New York State, and I’m not going.
Joseph Spector is the New York State Editor for the USA TODAY Network. He can be contacted at [email protected] or followed on Twitter: @GannettAlbany
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This article originally appeared on New York State Team: New York MTA Warns of Price Hikes and Subway, Bus Service Cuts
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