transportation equity

NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign

Pratt Center for Community Development

Transportation Alternatives

Tri-State Transportation Campaign

Statement preceding MTA fare hike hearing at Cooper Union, September 13, 2010

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.