Governor Also Proposes Actions for the Legislature to Finally Establish Accountability, Overhaul Bureaucracy and Fix a Broken System
In Addition to Congestion Pricing, Necessary Actions Include Design-Build for Projects, Stopping Fare Evasion, Internal MTA Reorganization, Conducting Audit to Determine Cost of a Real Capital Plan, MTA Board Reorganization, and Creating a Lockbox of Congestion Pricing Revenue for MTA Capital Projects
Data Shows Only a Fraction of New Yorkers Commute by Car into Central Business District, and 25 Percent of Commuters Who Would Pay a Congestion Pricing Fee Are from Out of State
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today called on the State Legislature to enact a congestion pricing plan to fund the MTA’s capital program in order to prevent a nearly 30% MTA fare hike or further deterioration of the transit system. During a speech at the Association for a Better New York, the Governor said the only logical and realistic option to provide an ongoing and dedicated revenue stream to the MTA is through congestion pricing, which the Governor included in his 2020 Executive Budget proposal. Otherwise the Legislature risks saddling New Yorkers with significant toll and fare increases by the MTA.
In addition to congestion pricing, the Governor also outlined a set of proposed actions for the Legislature to establish accountability and fix a system that has been broken for decades. The proposals include improving processes for the design and completion of major projects, addressing the mounting budget and operational deficiencies, determining the cost of a real capital plan, and overhauling the MTA’s archaic structure.
«The MTA has been plagued by organizational dysfunction and disinvestment for decades, and we need better management and more money to turn it around,» Governor Cuomo said. «Congestion pricing is the only logical and realistic option to fund the MTA’s capital needs and one person must have the authority to make decisions, hire and fire, and reorganize. Let the Legislature cast their vote on the real choice – congestion pricing or 30% fare and toll increases. It’s A or B because there is no C. If the public understands the critical choice their elected officials are making, congestion pricing will prevail.»