transit

Our groups are here to announce our strong opposition to the proposed MTA fare increase in 2011. We also want to make it clear we hold the New York State Legislature and Governor Paterson responsible for the punishing treatment riders have received in the last year.

The State Legislature played a big part in getting New York subway and bus riders into this fiscal mess. In December 2009, the state legislature cut $143 million in taxes already dedicated to transit from the MTA. This was followed by a sharp downturn in the revenues coming from dedicated transit taxes. Those taxes called for the various beneficiaries of transit to contribute to the MTA, including riders, drivers, property sellers and employers.

Unless the State Legislature makes funding the transit system a real priority, subway and bus riders will continue to face a world of hurt – from soaring fares to cuts in service to more unreliable trains and buses to a crumbling system.

Flushing Commuters

Map last updated September 22, 2010

Transportation Equity Atlas Debuts

News last updated October 6, 2010

The Pratt Center has just released the Transportation Equity Atlas, a collection of downloadable maps showing commuting patterns and the length of rides to work for residents of a dozen low- and moderate-income neighborhoods in New York City, from East Flatbush to East Elmhurst to Washington Heights. The Atlas also shows where workers at major employment centers in the boroughs live, and how they get to work.

The Transportation Equity Atlas arrives just as the MTA announces fare hikes that add to the burden borne by low-income riders, who have already suffered the brunt of recent cutbacks in service.

Based on 2000 U.S. Census data, the Transportation Equity Atlas shows that even when the transit system had more frequent and extensive service, riders in the Atlas neighborhoods endured extremely long commutes to work. For example, more than half of subway riders in Soundview, in the Bronx, had rides of one hour or more.