Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York)

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Metropolitan Transportation Authority

MTA NYC logo.svg


Sample of MTA services MNRR NYCT Bus LIRR MTA Bus LI Bus NYCT Subway.jpg
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.
Background
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 17 (commuter rail)
24 services (subway)
217 (bus)
4 (BRT)
Daily ridership

11,574,566 (weekday; all modes)
Chief executive Thomas F. Prendergast (Interim Executive Director, Nominated for CEO & Chairman)[1]
Fernando Ferrer (acting chairman)[2]
Headquarters 347 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Website mta.info
Operation
Began operation 1965
Number of vehicles 2,308 commuter rail cars
6,292 subway
63 SIR cars
4,336 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.[3]

Contents

History [edit]

Chartered by the New York State Legislature in 1965 as the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Authority (MCTA) it initially was created 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) and Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA), now MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) and MTA Bridges and Tunnels (B&T) respectively. The agency also acquired through lease the New York State commuter trackage of Penn Central Transportation's Hudson, Harlem and New Haven lines, 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 Railroad.

Responsibilities and service area [edit]

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)". Joseph Lhota is currently Chairman & CEO of the MTA, having been nominated by Governor Andrew Cuomo. Nuria Fernandez has also been named as Chief Operating Officer.[4]

The MTA's immediate past chairpersons were: Richard Ravitch (1979–1983), Robert Kiley (1983–1991), Peter Stangl (1991–1995), Virgil Conway (1995-2001), Peter S. Kalikow (2001-2007), Dale Hemmerdinger (2007-2009) and Jay Walder (2009-2011).

The MTA is the largest 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.

Related entities [edit]

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 [edit]

Affiliate agencies [edit]

Governance [edit]

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.

Budget Issues [edit]

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 currently holds $31 billion in debt and it also suffers from a $900 million gap in its operating budget for 2011.[7]

Causes [edit]

The MTA has consistently run on a deficit, but increased spending in 2000-2004 coupled with the economic downturn has led to a severe increase in the financial burden that the MTA bears. The current budget problems stems 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.[8] Therefore the MTA must rely on other sources of funding to remain operational. Revenue collected from real estate taxes for transportation purposes has helped to contain the deficit. However, due to the weak economy and unstable real estate market, money from these taxes has severely decreased; in 2010, tax revenue fell at least 20% short of the projected value.[9] Beyond this, steadily reducing support from city and state governments has led to borrowing money by issuing bonds, which has contributed heavily to the debt that is present today.[10]

Results [edit]

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 3, 2013, raising single-ride fares from $2.25 to $2.50, express service from $5.50 to $6.00 and the monthly MetroCard fare from $104 to $112.[11] Each fare raise has been 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.[12] Fewer trains spaced farther between has resulted in heavy overcrowding beyond normal rush hours, leading to frustration for many subway and bus riders.[13]

MTA employees have 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.[14]

See also [edit]

Portal icon New York City portal
Portal icon Transportation portal

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York)

References [edit]

  1. ^ http://www.mta.info/mta/leadership/management.htm
  2. ^ http://mta.info/mta/leadership/board.htm
  3. ^ MTA - About Bridges & Tunnels
  4. ^ Joseph Lhota Tapped by Governor Cuomo to Head MTA http://mta.info/news/stories/?story=423
  5. ^ McKinley, James C, Jr. (1994-08-28), "What's in a Symbol? A Lot, the M.T.A. Is Betting", New York Times, retrieved 2008-02-23 
  6. ^ 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 [1].
  7. ^ Metropolitan Transportation Authority. (2010, July). MTA 2011 Preliminary Budget. July Financial Plan 2011-2014. Retrieved from [2].
  8. ^ Smerd, Jeremy. (2010, June 23). Another Tax Shortfall Hits the MTA's Budget. Crain's New York Business. Retrieved from [3].
  9. ^ Gupta, Arun and Valdes, Danny. (2009, June 5). Why the MTA is Broken. The Indypendent. Retrieved from [4].
  10. ^ Namako, Tom. (2010, October 7). MTA raises fares again, monthly MetroCard prices skyrocket to $104. New York Post. Retrieved from [5].
  11. ^ http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/mta_approves_massive_service_cuts_ld0ihDzwNAygo2Hw9S0zlM
  12. ^ Mooney, Jake. (2010, July 26). MTA Cuts Mean Bigger Crowds, More Problems. City Limits News. Retrieved from [6].
  13. ^ Wells, Nicholas. (2010, August 12). MTA Budget Deficit - Not Riders' Fault! Westview News. Retrieved from [7].
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
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