June 5, 2007, 11:57 AM EDT
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs, among its entities, the Long Island Rail Road, needs to mind the gap. In this case, not the gaps on its station platforms.
Rather, it needs to close the projected gaps in its operating budgets for 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010, a review by the New York City Independent Budget Office has reported.
The analysis found that while previous MTA projected budget shortfalls failed to materialize -- and, in fact, turned into a surplus of almost $1 billion in 2006 -- the projected budget shortfalls in the next four years are "conservative" estimates and could necessitate raising railroad, subway and bus fares by 20 percent in order to close the gap.
What that could mean to riders are subway and bus fares going from $2 to $2.40 by 2010, the price of 30-day MetroCards soaring from $76 to $92 -- and the average LIRR fare going from $5.58 to $6.72.
"If we don't get financial help soon, transit riders will face whopping fare hikes," the senior attorney for the Straphangers Campaign, Gene Russianoff, said in a prepared statement Tuesday.
The commuter watchdog group called on Gov. Elliot Spitzer and Mayor Michael Bloomberg for financial help, pressing for the implementation of Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan proposal -- a plan that would charge commuters driving into midtown Manhattan -- to supplement the public transportation systems.
Opponents have previously railed against that congestion-pricing plan, saying it would place an undue financial burden on drivers who can not use mass transit and have no choice to drive into the city.
While the IBO review suggests the MTA will be faced with a significant budget crisis in the near future, it also suggests that raising fares alone is not the best plan of action.
It suggests that the shortfall needs to be raised from each of the major funding sources for the MTA: fares, tolls from the bridges and tunnels it operates, dedicated taxes and state and local subsidies. This would include higher E-Z Pass fares, potential revenue generated by MTA bonds and an increase in state capital contributions.
Reductions in service would have minimal debt relief impact the review found and so were not the recommended cost-cutting measures.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs, among its entities, the Long Island Rail Road, needs to mind the gap. In this case, not the gaps on its station platforms.
Rather, it needs to close the projected gaps in its operating budgets for 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010, a review by the New York City Independent Budget Office has reported.
The analysis found that while previous MTA projected budget shortfalls failed to materialize -- and, in fact, turned into a surplus of almost $1 billion in 2006 -- the projected budget shortfalls in the next four years are "conservative" estimates and could necessitate raising railroad, subway and bus fares by 20 percent in order to close the gap.
What that could mean to riders are subway and bus fares going from $2 to $2.40 by 2010, the price of 30-day MetroCards soaring from $76 to $92 -- and the average LIRR fare going from $5.58 to $6.72.
"If we don't get financial help soon, transit riders will face whopping fare hikes," the senior attorney for the Straphangers Campaign, Gene Russianoff, said in a prepared statement Tuesday.
The commuter watchdog group called on Gov. Elliot Spitzer and Mayor Michael Bloomberg for financial help, pressing for the implementation of Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan proposal -- a plan that would charge commuters driving into midtown Manhattan -- to supplement the public transportation systems.
Opponents have previously railed against that congestion-pricing plan, saying it would place an undue financial burden on drivers who can not use mass transit and have no choice to drive into the city.
While the IBO review suggests the MTA will be faced with a significant budget crisis in the near future, it also suggests that raising fares alone is not the best plan of action.
It suggests that the shortfall needs to be raised from each of the major funding sources for the MTA: fares, tolls from the bridges and tunnels it operates, dedicated taxes and state and local subsidies. This would include higher E-Z Pass fares, potential revenue generated by MTA bonds and an increase in state capital contributions.
Reductions in service would have minimal debt relief impact the review found and so were not the recommended cost-cutting measures.
