You know all those trains under and above the streets of New York? Those sub-and-above-ways run on an operating budget of $10.8 billion dollars a year. Craziness I know, but what is nuts is that while Spitzer-approved fare increases will net the MTA $163 million, while the transit authority is only trying to save $50 million. That's the MTA, hard at work as usual.
From The Daily News:
The savings in the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's 2008 "Program to Eliminate the Gap" are equal to less than one-half of 1% of the authority's proposed $10.8 billion operating budget.
"Most riders think they could do better at saving money," said Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign.
Even with those savings, which include leaving some vacancies unfilled and eliminating other positions, MTA spending will increase by about $500 million, or about 5%, next year, according to the budget going before the board next month.
MTA CEO Elliot Sander has said that the agency can't make deeper cuts than those outlined in the proposed budget and four-year financial plan without curtailing service and maintenance.
Curtailing service and maintenance? That sounds like a scare tactic to me. Their resistance to seeing what the state legislature can do for them in the spring is also disheartening. Sander says he doesn't want to burden them until he asks for larger amounts of money for the second phase of the 2nd Avenue subway and other projects. Well Mr. Sander, those things will come later, relief from a fare increase is needed now.
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