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COURIER LIFE, OCT. 30-NOV. 5, 2020 17
‘Doomsday’
for MTA could
mean longer
waits: report
BY MARK HALLUM
The transit advocacy
group Riders Alliance’s
latest study shows that
“doomsday” cuts to MTA
bus and subway service
could increase wait times
by anywhere from 15 minutes
to an hour depending
on routes and train lines.
The MTA has said service
may be slashed by
up to 40 percent, and the
authority has repeatedly
called on the federal government
to provide fi nancial
relief as the COVID-19
pandemic has stripped
the agency of much of its
revenue. But the Republican
led Senate, under the
leadership of Kentucky
Senator Mitch McConnell,
has ignored their
pleas since April.
Without the $12 billion
requested of the federal
government to see
the MTA through the
end of 2021, the Riders
Alliance study shows
that commute times, especially
for minority
groups and those working
the healthcare industry,
will face even longer
commutes that the current
51 minute average.
“Transit service cutbacks
will rob hours of
precious time from millions
of New Yorkers every
week,” Riders Alliance
Executive Director
Betsy Plum said. “Public
transit is the lifeblood of
the city and the lifeline of
millions of hard working
Americans struggling to
support their families
and communities. The
House of Representatives
has voted twice to
save transit and now the
White House and Senate
must act on pandemic
transit relief.”
The MTA made no
dispute of the projections
set forth by the
Riders Alliance nor did
they discredit the lack of
funding will have on essential
workers in particular
as New York City
enters winter with the
expectation of a surge in
coronavirus cases.
“This report by the
Riders’ Alliance underscores
what we’ve been
saying all along: access
to transit is undeniably
an equity issue,”
MTA Spokesman Aaron
Donovan said. “As with
any potential service
cuts, the harshest consequences
are borne
by those who rely on us
most. If the federal government
wants to honor
doctors, nurses, police
offi cers, transit workers,
pharmacy assistants,
grocery staff who
are carrying us through
this crisis, Washington
will provide $12 billion
in funding instead of ripping
their commute out
from under them.”
MTA Chairman Pat
Foye has laid out that
train wait times could
increase by eight minutes
on subways and by
up to fi fteen minutes for
buses. A proposed a $1
fare increase alongside
the 40 percent “doomsday”
service cuts may be
on the table if the federal
government does not follow
through. Altogether,
the MTA could be looking
at a $16 billion budget
gap by 2024, something
they have considered
borrowing to alleviate.
If the agency borrows
that $10 billion from the
federal government to
fund their operations,
their debt could increase
from $35.4 billion to $50.4
billion by 2024. Repaying
lenders could take up a
quarter of every dollar
the MTA makes in revenue
by 2023, according
to a report from state
Comptroller Thomas Di-
Napoli.
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