NYC subway system faces steep cuts; MTA chairman calls on ‘Amtrak Joe’ Biden to stave off 9,400 layoffs
COVID-19 pandemic causes unprecedented reductions in ridership the MTA says could linger into the mid-2020s.
The outlook for a transportation agency that moves millions of commuters through New York City and its suburbs was laid out in grim detail by MTA chairman Patrick Foye at the agency’s monthly meeting on Wednesday, reports the Rockland/Westchester Journal News, which is part of the USA TODAY Network.
“We know any reductions in service will hurt the city and the region, including customers who need us most,” Foye said. “But without the certainty of substantial federal dollars there is no recourse and we must plan for the worst while hoping for the best in the wake of a crisis that has done more damage to our finances than even the Great Depression in the ’30s.”
No decisions were made Wednesday. The board will consider the proposed cuts when it votes on the MTA’s 2021 budget next month.
Also up for discussion are commuter rail fare increases of up to 4% as well as a proposal to freeze the price of monthly commuter tickets while increasing the cost of one-way and 10-trip tickets.
In the interim, Foye said he was holding out hope President-elect Joe Biden, who regularly rode Amtrak to and from his Delaware home while serving in the U.S. Senate, would broker a deal in the Senate, where the emergency funding is stuck.
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“Their indifference to the future of mass transit in this country has been an infuriating roadblock but we’re cautiously hopeful that Amtrak Joe might help clear it so that we continue our core business of moving New York,” Foye said.
