New York's $68 Billion Transit Plan in Jeopardy Amid Federal Funding Dispute

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has proposed a five-year capital budget plan totaling $68 billion, which includes critical upgrades to the subway, buses, and commuter railroads. However, the plan is contingent on receiving $14 billion in federal funding, which is now uncertain due to a dispute between New York and Washington over congestion pricing.

The MTA's plan is crucial for the state's transit system, which has been plagued by delays, power outages, and track fires. "We have to invest in the system to protect the riders," said Janno Lieber, the head of the MTA, to the New York Times. The plan includes upgrades such as new rail cars and buses, improvements to subway signals, vital electrical repairs, and making more subway stations accessible for disabled riders.

However, federal officials have threatened to withdraw funding from New York transit unless the MTA produces data on subway crime. Additionally, President Trump has vowed to kill congestion pricing, a tolling program that began in January and charges drivers $9 to enter Manhattan during peak traffic hours. The Trump administration claims the program will hurt the city's economy, despite lack of evidence.

New York lawmakers are scrambling to find alternative funding sources, but so far, they have identified funding for only half of the plan. "None of the options are easy," said Andrew Rein, president of the Citizens Budget Commission, a fiscal watchdog group. Delaying the plan will cost the state more in the long run due to further deterioration and rising construction costs.

Lawmakers are considering raising transit fares, bridge and tunnel tolls, and vehicle registration fees to fill the funding gap. They may also increase taxes across the region served by mass transit, including the mansion tax on property sales or the payroll mobility tax for businesses.