View letter

Charging that all viable alternatives must be exhausted, New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. today urged members of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to vote against a fare increase on Wednesday.

“Action on the fare should be postponed to allow for the MTA’s fiscal problems to be addressed in the state budget process early next year,” Thompson wrote. “At a time when many New Yorkers are struggling with escalating living expenses, it is incumbent on us not to add unnecessarily to their burden. Before the riding public is asked to pay more, all viable alternatives to a fare increase must be exhausted. It is simply a question of fairness and equity.”

In his letters, including the one posted at www.comptroller.nyc.gov, Thompson pointed to his August report, Keeping the Lid on the Bus and Subway Fare, which detailed how much the State has been shortchanging the MTA.

The State, for example, has been using funds from dedicated taxes raised in the MTA region to pay its share of the State Transit Assistance program (the 18-b program), which should have been funded through the State’s General Fund.

The practice began in 2002 and has cost New York City Transit (NYCT) hundreds of millions of dollars. Thompson noted that unless the State acts to reverse this situation, NYCT stands to lose a total of $142.4 million in 2007-2008 alone.

The report also urged the State to lift the cap on the 18-b program funding, thereby providing the MTA with $195.4 million more from the State, matched by another $195.4 million from New York City.

###