Albany to MTA: No rush for fare hike, maybe we can find another way to meet costs
State lawmakers oppose an MTA subway, bus and train fare increase, and are looking for other ways to close the agency’s financial gap.
Budget proposals released Tuesday by both the state Senate and Assembly call on the agency to forgo its planned 5.5% fare increase for 2023, as well as an expected future hike in 2025.
The Assembly’s plan put the price of the planned 2023 fare increase at $197 million, and said state government should find other sources for the money.
“For too long, Albany has allowed the MTA to be funded by regular fare hikes on working-class riders who depend on it the most,” Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Queens) and Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani (D-Queens) said in a joint statement.
“The MTA — like sanitation and firefighting — is a public good. We are proud that these budget resolutions recognize it as such and commit to raising revenue from the wealthy to fund the lifeblood of our city.”
The lawmakers also rejected Gov. Hochul’s plan to cover the MTA’s $1.2 billion deficit with an increase of the state’s payroll mobility tax and a roughly $500 million additional contribution from New York City coffers.
Instead, lawmakers said, a variety of sources should be used to fund the MTA, including higher corporate taxes, surcharges on Uber, Lyft and other rideshare services, and new New York City parking fees.
The Senate’s budget blueprint calls for hiking the 30% corporate franchise tax surcharge earmarked for the MTA to 45%. The Assembly floated a 2% increase in the state income tax for “certain taxpayers with a business income base over $5 million.”
The Senate blueprint also proposed generating revenue through requiring permits for residential parking in New York City, as well as adding an additional 50-cent surcharge onto Uber and Lyft rides.
A spokesman for Gianaris told the Daily News that the parking permit plan would generate an estimated $400 million in revenue for the MTA, while the rideshare surcharge would net more than $200 million.
The budget blueprints are widely seen as counteroffers to the governor’s budget, and mark the beginning of closed-door negotiations ahead of the state’s April 1 budget deadline.
Last month, MTA Chairman Janno Lieber expressed concern over the prospect that Hochul’s plan to fill the agency’s deficit, calling it a doomsday scenario in which fares could soar as service stumbled.
On Tuesday, though, Lieber was more sanguine. “We’re grateful the Legislature agrees with Gov. Hochul that transit service in this region is essential, and needs to be funded,” he said in a statement.
“The governor led by putting forward a balanced proposal to fund transit with dedicated, stable and recurring revenue — putting riders first — and we look forward to working with her administration, the Senate and the Assembly toward a final budget that accomplishes those goals.”
Lisa Daglian, executive director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, lauded the proposals as a good start.
“The fact that sustainable and recurring funding for the MTA features so prominently is a clear indicator that our elected officials heard us as we have begged and cajoled over the past year, and we appreciate the Senate, House and governor for being so responsive,” she said in a statement.
“Even as negotiations now advance, the starting point of funding the MTA is a good place for consensus,” Daglian added.