Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York)

Metropolitan Transportation Authority

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) provides local and express bus, subway, and regional rail service in Greater New York, and operates multiple toll bridges and tunnels in New York City.
Overview
Locale New York City
Long Island
Lower Hudson Valley
Coastal Connecticut
Transit type Commuter rail, local and express bus, subway, bus rapid transit
Number of lines
  • 16 commuter rail routes
    • 5 Metro-North routes
    • 11 LIRR routes
  • 25 rapid transit routes
    • 24 subway routes
    • 1 Staten Island Railway route
  • 310 bus routes
Daily ridership

8,658,764 (weekday; all modes)

Chief executive Thomas F. Prendergast (CEO & Chairman)[1]
Headquarters 347 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Website mta.info
Operation
Began operation 1965
Number of vehicles 2,352 commuter rail cars
6,344 subway cars
63 SIR cars
5,777 buses

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the U.S. state of New York, serving 12 counties in southeastern New York, along with two counties in southwestern Connecticut under contract to the Connecticut Department of Transportation, carrying over 11 million passengers on an average weekday systemwide, and over 800,000 vehicles on its seven toll bridges and two tunnels per weekday.

History

Chartered by the New York State Legislature in 1965 as the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Authority (MCTA) it was initially created by Governor Nelson Rockefeller to purchase and operate the bankrupt Long Island Rail Road. The MCTA dropped the word "Commuter" from its name and became the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in 1968 when it took over operations of the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) (now MTA New York City Transit (NYCT)) and Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA) (now MTA Bridges and Tunnels (B&T)).[2]

The agency also entered into a long-term lease of the Penn Central Transportation's Hudson, Harlem, and New Haven commuter rail lines,[2] contracting their subsidized operation to Penn Central, until that company's operations were folded into Conrail in 1976. The MTA took over full operations in 1983, as the Metro-North Commuter Railroad.[2] Governor Rockefeller appointed his top aide, Dr. William J. Ronan, as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Ronan served in this post until 1974.

Responsibilities and service area

Thomas F. Prendergast, current Chairman and CEO of MTA

The MTA has the responsibility for developing and implementing a unified mass transportation policy for the New York metropolitan area, including all five boroughs of New York City and the suburban counties of Dutchess, Nassau, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Suffolk and Westchester, all of which together are the "Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District (MCTD)". Thomas F. Prendergast is currently the Chairman & CEO of the MTA.

The MTA's immediate past chairpersons were: William J. Ronan (1965–1974), David Yunich (1974–1975), Harold Fisher (1975–1979), Richard Ravitch (1979–1983), Robert Kiley (1983–1991), Peter Stangl (1991–1995), Virgil Conway (1995–2001), Peter S. Kalikow (2001–2007), H. Dale Hemmerdinger (2007–2009), Jay Walder (2009–2011), and Joseph Lhota[3] (2012).

The MTA is the largest regional public transportation provider in the Western Hemisphere. Its agencies serve a region of approximately 14.6 million people spread over 5,000 square miles (13,000 km²) in 12 New York counties and two in Connecticut. MTA agencies now move more than 8.5 million customers per day (2.6 billion rail and bus customers a year) and employ approximately 65,000 workers. The MTA's systems carry over 11 million passengers on an average weekday systemwide, and over 800,000 vehicles on its seven toll bridges and two tunnels per weekday.[4]

Subsidiaries and affiliates

MTA carries out these planning and other responsibilities both directly and through its subsidiaries and affiliates, and provides oversight to these subordinate agencies, known collectively as "The Related Entities".[5] The Related Entities represent a number of previously existing agencies which have come under the MTA umbrella. In turn, these previously existing agencies were (with the exception of MTA Bridges and Tunnels and MTA Capital Construction) successors to the property of private companies that provided substantially the same services.

Each of these Related Entities has a popular name and in some cases, a former, legal name. The popular names were part of an overall corporate identification effort in 1994 to eliminate the confusion over the affiliations of the various "authorities" that were part of the MTA.[6] Legal names have since only been used for legal documents, such as contracts, and have not been used publicly; however, since the mid-2000s, the popular name has also been used for legal documents related to contract procurements where the legal name was used heretofore. Both are listed below.

Subsidiary agencies

Affiliate agencies

Governance

The MTA is governed by a 19-member board representing the 5 boroughs of New York City and each of the counties in its New York State service area.

Five members, in addition to the Chairman and CEO, are directly nominated by the Governor of New York, with four recommended by New York City’s mayor, and one each by the county executives of Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties. Each of these members has one vote.

The county executives of Dutchess, Orange, Rockland, and Putnam counties also nominate one member each, but these members cast one collective vote. The Board also has six rotating nonvoting seats held by representatives of MTA employee organized labor and the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee, which serves as a voice for users of MTA transit and commuter facilities.

All board members are confirmed by the New York State Senate.

Service animal policy

Service animals, including guide dogs, are allowed on MTA public transportation in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), if the dog meets the law's definition of a service animal.[7]

In 2013, a Brooklyn Federal Court judge ordered the MTA to pay a 70-year-old Manhattan woman $150,000 to settle a lawsuit over her service animal. The judge ruled that the MTA had violated the ADA when its drivers, motormen, and conductors had either denied the woman access to transportation with her dog or improperly demanded to see its papers.[8]

Budget gaps

The budget deficit of the MTA is a growing crisis for the organization as well as New York City and State residents and legislature. The MTA held $31 billion in debt in 2010 and it also suffered from a $900 million gap in its operating budget for 2011.[9] The capital budget, which covers repairs, technological upgrades, new trains, and expansions, is currently $15 billion short of what the MTA states it needs. If this is not funded, the MTA will fund the repairs with debt and raise fares to cover repayments.

The MTA has consistently run on a deficit, but increased spending in 2000–04 coupled with the economic downturn led to a severe increase in the financial burden that the MTA bore. The budget problems stem from multiple sources. The MTA cannot be supported solely by rider fares and road tolls. In the preliminary 2011 budget, MTA forecasted operating revenue totaled at $6.5 billion, amount to only 50% of the $13 billion operating expenses.[10] Therefore, the MTA must rely on other sources of funding to remain operational. Revenue collected from real estate taxes for transportation purposes helped to contain the deficit. However, due to the weak economy and unstable real estate market, money from these taxes severely decreased; in 2010, tax revenue fell at least 20% short of the projected value.[11] Beyond this, steadily reducing support from city and state governments led to borrowing money by issuing bonds, which contributed heavily to the debt.[12]

Examples

This budget deficit has resulted in various problems, mainly concentrated in New York City. New York City Subway fares have been increased four times since 2008, with the most recent occurring March 22, 2015, raising single-ride fares from $2.50 to $2.75, express service from $6 to $6.50 and the monthly MetroCard fare from $112 to $116.[13] Each fare raise was met with increasing resistance by MTA customers, and many are beginning to find the fare increases prohibitive. 2010 also saw heavy service cuts for many MTA subsidiaries.[14] Fewer trains spaced farther between resulted in heavy overcrowding beyond normal rush hours, leading to frustration for many subway and bus riders.[15][16][17] In 2013, the subway had the highest ridership since 1947.[18] MTA employees also suffered due to the budget issues. By mid-July 2010, MTA layoffs had reached over 1,000, and many of those affected were low-level employees who made less than $55,000 annually.[19]

As of 2015, the MTA was running a $15 billion deficit in its $32 billion 2015–2019 Capital Plan.[20] Without extra funding, many necessary construction and renovation projects would not be performed.[21] In October 2015, the MTA passed the $29 billion 2015–2019 Capital Plan,[22] the largest capital plan in MTA's history; it will be funded by federal, state and city government as well as riders' fares and tolls.[23] Three months later, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and MTA chairman Thomas Prendergast unveiled their plan to spend $26 billion to modernize the subway network, which includes adding Wi-Fi and cellphone services throughout all 278 stations by the end of 2016. Other plans call for making extensive renovations to 30 subway stations, allowing mobile ticketing by cellphone or bank cards, and adding security cameras on buses, charging stations for electronics, and more countdown clocks. Roughly $3 million will be spend to improve bridges and tunnels.[24][25]

Advertisement controversies

The MTA refused to display an ad in the New York City Subway system in 2012, which read: "In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat Jihad."[26] The authority's decision was overturned in July 2012 when Judge Paul A. Engelmayer of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that the ad of the American Freedom Defense Initiative is protected speech under the First Amendment, and that the MTA's actions were unconstitutional.[26][27][28] The judge held in a 35-page opinion that the rejected ad was "not only protected speech — it is core political speech ... [which as such] is afforded the highest level of protection under the First Amendment."[28][29] The MTA had received $116.4 million in revenue in 2011 from advertising sold throughout its subway, commuter rail, and bus systems.[29]

In April 2015, another ad became the subject of controversy when the MTA refused to display it, the refusal was again challenged in court, and the MTA again lost in court and was ordered by a federal judge to display the ad.[30] The ad, paid for by the American Freedom Defense Initiative, showed a man with a scarf covering his face, with the caption "Killing Jews is Worship that draws us close to Allah", which was attributed to "Hamas MTV," and then stated: "That's His Jihad. What's yours?"[30] The ad included a disclaimer that the display of the ad did not reflect the opinion of the MTA.[30] U.S. District Judge John Koeltl of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan said the ad was protected speech under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and rejected the MTA's argument that the ad might endorse terrorism or violence.[30] Pamela Geller, president of the group that sued the MTA in order to run the ads, lauded the decision, and a lawyer for the organization said the same decision had been made in Washington and Philadelphia.[31]

A week afterward, the MTA's board in a 9–2 vote banned all political, religious, and opinion advertisements on subways and buses, limiting any ads to commercial ones.[32][33] Specifically, it banned advertisements that "prominently or predominately advocate or express a political message" about "disputed economic, political, moral, religious or social issues," and any ad that "promotes or opposes" a political party, ballot referendum, and "the election of any candidate".[20] The board estimated that the ads that the board was banning made up less than $1 million of the MTA's annual (as of 2014) $138 million advertising revenue.[20] Nevertheless, lawyers for the American Freedom Defense Initiative called the MTA's action a "disingenuous attempt to circumvent" the judge's order.[32]

The MTA collected $138 million from advertising on its trains and buses in 2014.[32]

See also

References

  1. ↑ MTA Management Team. Mta.info. Retrieved on April 9, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 Penner, Larry (July 15, 2014). "Happy 51st Birthday To Queens Public Transportation". Queens Gazette. Archived from the original on 2015-09-12. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  3. ↑ Joseph Lhota Tapped by Governor Cuomo to Head MTA. October 21, 2011.
  4. ↑ "MTA – About Bridges & Tunnels". Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  5. ↑ McKinley, James C, Jr. (August 28, 1994), "What's in a Symbol? A Lot, the M.T.A. Is Betting", New York Times, retrieved February 23, 2008
  6. ↑ http://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm
  7. ↑ "City Transit will payout $150G to Manhattan rider over service dog harassment". New York: NY Daily News. October 4, 2013. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
  8. ↑ Drum Major Institute for Public Policy. (2010). Solving the MTA's Budget Crisis and Reinvesting in Mass Transit: A Five-Step Platform for the Next Governor of New York State. Retrieved from .
  9. ↑ Metropolitan Transportation Authority. (July 2010). MTA 2011 Preliminary Budget. July Financial Plan 2011–2014. Retrieved from .
  10. ↑ Smerd, Jeremy. (June 23, 2010). Another Tax Shortfall Hits the MTA's Budget. Crain's New York Business. Retrieved from .
  11. ↑ Gupta, Arun and Valdes, Danny. (June 5, 2009). Why the MTA is Broken. The Indypendent. Retrieved from .
  12. ↑ Namako, Tom. (October 7, 2010). MTA raises fares again, monthly MetroCard prices skyrocket to $104. New York Post. Retrieved from .
  13. ↑ MTA approves massive service cuts. NYPOST.com (March 24, 2010). Retrieved on July 26, 2013.
  14. ↑ Mooney, Jake. (July 26, 2010). MTA Cuts Mean Bigger Crowds, More Problems. City Limits News. Retrieved from .
  15. ↑ Subway and Staten Island Railway Service Reductions, mta.info. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  16. ↑ Bus Service Reductions, mta.info. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  17. ↑ "MTA – news – 2013 Ridership Reaches 65-Year High". mta.info.
  18. ↑ Wells, Nicholas. (August 12, 2010). MTA Budget Deficit – Not Riders' Fault! Westview News. Retrieved from .
  19. 1 2 3 "MTA Board Votes to Ban Political Ads". DNAinfo New York.
  20. ↑ Benjamin Mueller (February 25, 2015). "M.T.A. Chief Tries to Ease Alarm on Budget Gap, but Warns of Risks to Projects". The New York Times. Retrieved May 9, 2015.
  21. ↑ Fitzsimmons, Emma; Burns, Alexander (10 October 2015). "New York City and State Reach Agreement on M.T.A. Capital Plan". nytimes.com. The New York Times. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  22. ↑ Harshbarger, Rebecca (29 October 2015). "MTA approves $29 billion capital plan, largest in history, cuts $1 billion from Second Avenue Subway". amNewYork.com. am New York. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  23. ↑ Krudy, Edward. "New York's MTA to renovate subway stations, equip them with Wi-Fi". reuters.com. Reuters. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  24. ↑ Gormley, Michael. "Cuomo plans Wi-Fi in subways, security cameras on NYC buses". newsday.com. Newsday. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  25. 1 2 "Controversial 'Defeat Jihad' ad to appear in NYC subways". CNN. September 19, 2012. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  26. ↑ Flegenheimer, Matt (September 18, 2012). "Ad Urging Defeat of Jihad to Appear in New York Subway". The New York Times.
  27. 1 2 Ted Mann (July 20, 2012). "Court Rejects MTA’s Ban Against ‘Demeaning’ Transit Ads". WSJ. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  28. 1 2 Weiser, Benjamin (July 20, 2012). "M.T.A. Violated Rights of Pro-Israel Group, Judge Says". The New York Times.
  29. 1 2 3 4 "Judge orders NY transit agency to run 'Killing Jews' ad". Reuters. April 21, 2015.
  30. ↑ Michael E. Miller (April 22, 2015). "‘Killing Jews is Worship’ posters will soon appear on NYC subways and buses". Washington Post. Retrieved April 22, 2015.
  31. 1 2 3 "Anti-Hamas Group Renews Bid to Display Rejected Ads". New York Law Journal.
  32. ↑ Emma G. Fitzsimmons (April 29, 2015). "M.T.A. Board Votes to Ban Political Ads on Subways and Buses". New York Times. Retrieved May 2, 2015.

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