Increased housing supply created under the zoning reforms could bring an estimated 70,000 to 97,000 new riders to the city’s subway, bus and commuter rail lines—bringing an additional $224,188,000 to $309,224,000 per year to the MTA’s coffers, a new report found.
“Passing this legislation before the end of the session allows legislators to implement a transformative emission reduction strategy, significantly improving air quality for their constituents, especially for communities living and working along bus routes and near bus depots.”
Transportation and anti-poverty advocates are pushing the Adams administration to provide an extra $55 million in the next budget to expand the Fair Fares program—through which low-income New Yorkers can qualify for half-priced MetroCards—to include people earning up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level, or about $60,000 for a four-person household.
This summer, utility companies must submit plans detailing how they’ll implement a series of solutions to make electricity rates more affordable for electric vehicles. But their plan has fallen short of giving the MTA the preferential rate it says it needs to able to foot the bill, as it seeks to transition its 5,800-bus fleet off fossil fuels.
After a two-month journey from South America to the U.S. Border and a two-day bus ride from Texas to New York City, immigrants who spoke with City Limits just wanted a bite to eat and a place to rest. “I just want to work and get ahead,” one recently-arrived man said.
From subways and buses to bikes and ferries, the people who win this year’s elections for mayor and other city offices will not only shape how New Yorkers get around, but also how public space and taxpayer money gets used.
Driving, cycling and bus usage have all rebounded somewhat since the first two months of the pandemic, but subway and commuter rail ridership remain low.
It’s widely recognized that the MTA needs big ideas and comprehensive improvements. But sometimes it’s the little things that make a commute pleasant or purgatorial.
John Raskin talked about the big problem that unites all of the other challenges facing the subway, buses and commuter trains: The lack of accountability in the transit system as it now exists.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo released a statement at the end of June in support of a transit ban for serial offenders, calling it a ‘common sense issue.’
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Founded in 1976 in the midst of New York’s fiscal crisis, City Limits exists to inform democracy and equip citizens to create a more just city. The organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit funded by foundation support, ad sponsorship and donations from readers.
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