Give NYC a voice in the subway fix

In so many ways, Transit Authority chief Andy Byford’s “Fast Forward” plan, a prescription for our ailing subways and buses, is exactly what we need. It prioritizes the necessary signal upgrades that will finally result in reliable service. It commits the subway system to a target date for full accessibility and lays out an aggressive timeline for getting there. It calls for a complete overhaul of the MTA’s bureaucratic structure to better respond to riders’ demands.

And yet, as exciting as this plan is, commuters should be forgiven if they remain skeptical. Simply put, the MTA has not earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to actually implementing it.

The MTA’s recent track record is littered with out-of-control spending, delays and project mismanagement. On capital projects, the agency routinely spends two, four, even 10 times as much as other cities do, repeatedly breaking our own record for the most expensive subway project in the world.

The installation of modern communications-based train control signaling on the No. 7 line has blown past its deadline for completion several times since 2016. Elevator costs have been so high that they weren’t included in recent station renovations, and even where elevators have been installed, breakdowns are the norm. It is sadly typical that the elevators on the brand new Second Ave. line have already seen major outages in their first year and a half in use.

And even more than any individual instance of mismanagement, straphangers and taxpayers don’t trust the MTA because they cannot hold it accountable. As an institution, it has been chronically unresponsive. The leadership of the MTA spent years denying it even had a cost-containment problem, let alone beginning to address it. Elected bodies have hardly been better. Albany, which is supposed to oversee the MTA, has routinely gone years without holding oversight hearings.

This lack of accountability is the single greatest barrier to success for the “Fast Forward” plan. As Byford wrote, “this plan requires buy-in and support from all stakeholders.” Without real accountability, it will be hard to generate that sort of buy-in from a riding public that is rightly worried about throwing good money after bad.

How do we create such accountability? Make the city a partner and put us on the hook.

It still surprises New Yorkers to learn how small of a role New York City government plays in operating the subways — especially given the billions of dollars that the city and its residents pay into the MTA’s coffers annually. But it’s true: Of the MTA’s 17-member board, just four are recommended by the mayor. All are nominated by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate (with some suburban county executives also recommending members).

The governor’s appointed leadership sets the authority’s agenda and the city plays an advisory role at best. Each year, the city’s board members are presented with an operations budget that has been prepared without their input. Similarly, while the mayor’s representative on the Capital Review Board could theoretically veto the everyfive-years capital plan, in reality, to do so would be cutting off our nose to spite our face. This isn’t merely a problem of personalities; structurally, the MTA isn’t designed to be responsive to city government — and by extension, the straphangers we represent.

For the “Fast Forward” plan to work, this must change. The MTA should commit to consulting with the city in crafting its budgets, both operating and capital, going forward. To guarantee that this input is meaningful, the city’s members on the MTA’s board should be given a line-item veto on the final budget. In addition, the MTA should commit to quarterly appearances before the City Council to provide a sustained opportunity for oversight.

There are, of course, other challenges that the MTA will face as it implements this crucial plan, with funding concerns at the top of the list and the dire need for procurement reform looming over the proposal. But we cannot overstate how important it is for New Yorkers to be able to hold their local government accountable for addressing all these challenges.

For too long, the conversation about fixing the subways has been defined by jurisdictional bickering and bureaucratic blame-shifting. Under Byford’s leadership, we finally have an opportunity to put that conversation to bed and start to work together. If it adopts these structural reforms, the MTA will have a partner in the City of New York — and our constituents will be able to hold us responsible.