Straphangers Cautiously Optimistic About MTA Bailout Plan
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Straphangers were happy, but still skeptical Tuesday, amid word the fare hikes and service cuts could be a lot less than feared NY1's Kristen Shaughnessy filed the following report.While not all straphangers at Penn Station who spoke with NY1 Tuesday were sure when or why it would pass, they all say a bailout plan is necessary for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
"I'm not too confident," said one transit rider. "It remains to be seen what's going to happen. Just have to wait and see."
"It's all political," said another. "Everybody's campaigning as they negotiate deals. They're really doing it on their own behalf, not so much the commuters."
The state plans to pay for the bailout plan by tacking on other fees and taxes. Employers in the 12 counties the MTA serves would pay a payroll tax – with some exceptions. There would also be new Department of Motor Vehicle fees, like a 25 to 30 percent fee on driver licenses, an additional five-percent tax on car rentals, and a 50-cent charge on every taxi ride.
Although that surcharge is down from the dollar originally proposed, some New Yorkers say it is still too hefty a fee.
"We can't afford the taxi anymore," said one New Yorker. "The taxis are $10 to go 10 blocks and yet we really need subway. We're stuck between a rock and a hard place."
Gene Russianoff, the head of the Straphangers Campaign, says the bailout should have happened months ago, but he believes it at least distributes the pain fairly between those who benefit from mass transit.
"[It hits] riders through a small fare hike, drivers through series of taxes and fees, which are in the bill, and business, who you just can't have employees and customers without a transit system," Russianoff said.
But riders told NY1 that without improved service, any hike is too much.
"They need more trains. They come and breakdown. We are left waiting a long time and it's hot down here," said a straphanger.
Both Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Russianoff have been vocal about the need to fund MTA rebuilding projects and capital improvements.
"The fare is what you pay, service is what you get, and the capital plan is whether you're on a 42-year-old subway car that breaks down all the time, or at the mercy of 80-year-old signals," said the transit advocate. "So the fight's not over."
As the plan currently stands, capital improvement funding is not included in the billion-dollar bailout plan.