$836M IN TWO YEARS
MTA has spent all money from upgrade plan, but more on the way
Saving cheap.
The MTA has spent all $836 million dedicated two years ago to the Subway Action Plan, the Daily News has learned.
But the upgrade effort funded by the plan — which includes fixing drains, upgrading broken signal equipment and covering employee overtime — may continue for years, thanks to a surcharge on taxis and app-based car services that took effect in February.
A 2018 state law requires the first $362 million from the surcharge to go to the Subway Action Plan. Next year, the fee will put $301 million into the account, and $300 million every year after. the subway isn’t
The MTA is already spending the surcharge money. Officials would not confirm the amount that has been spent on the Subway Action Plan, but said it would be available in early July.
The money has improved service and dragged the subway out of a crisis.
On-time performance for trains has hit five-year highs over the past few months, and the number of major incidents is falling rapidly, MTA data show.
Those improvements have been aided in part by NYC Transit President Andy Byford’s “back to basics” approach, including his program to increase speed limits across the system.
Rachael Fauss, an analyst at good-government group Reinvent Albany, conceded the money allocated to the Subway Action Plan is well spent, but said much of it is too little, too late.
The plan “is a small component of the MTA’s overall capital needs,” said Fauss. “It came in at a time when the state hadn’t been properly investing in signal tech and state of good repair.”
Fauss pointed out the MTA cut $442 million for signal improvements from its budget before the system was thrown into crisis in 2017. She said the money dedicated to the Subway Action Plan account only partly covers that.
It’s unclear how the money will be spent. State law requires it be used for costs like infrastructure but it may also be used for debt service or employee benefits.
The MTA remains in a Gov. Cuomo-declared state of emergency, which allows the agency’s board to quickly approve spending for a wide range of initiatives.
Cuomo spokesman Patrick Muncie said the executive order mandating the state of emergency would not be lifted until “major reforms” are implemented.
MTA spokesman Max Young said the Subway Action Plan helped it “arrest the deterioration of the system,” and gave crews “critical new skills and techniques.”
“There is much more work to do,” he said. “The continuation of key improvements under the Subway Action Plan will help us get there.”