Could coming windfall enable MTA to delay fare hike? Sure, it could – but it won’t. It never does. All they focus on is the yawning maw of an unknowlable future. And while planning for the future is good business practice, it’s not all there is to it, either. You must also manage the assets and opportunities you have now.

Ignore that money behind the curtain.

• Never mind the $60 million more in real estate tax receipts that they now expect.
• Never mind that fare and toll revenue has risen by $49 million while health care spending has gone down $25 million.
• Never mind that there is $50 million sitting around not being used for the purpose it was intended – repainting 200 stations.  Hold on – $250,000 a station? What kind of paint were they using? Were these 200 JUMBO sized stations? Oh sorry – I forgot, we’re not supposed to look too closely at the MTA’s (in)actions. In fact, let’s not look to closely at why that money didn’t get used. Has anyone asked what the delay was? Was there a paint shortage I didn’t hear about?
• Let’s get back to not mentioning the $317 million surplus they will end 2007 with. Let us also not ask how they will use and manage this surplus because you know, it might be suggested that they use it in ways to hedge against future deficits. Shocking!
• Did I forget to not mention that the state lawmakers asked the MTA to wait on this a few months so they re-establish the state funding long ago choked off by the previous NY administration? 

No, none of this matters to them. All that money currently on hand is – to the MTA – irrelevant.   They want higher fares now to address deficits expected to hit in – wait for it – 2009.

Seeking balance

Now, all that said – it costs money to run the public transport system. We all know that. And despite the whinging, we all know that the cost will never go down.  So, clearly more money will be needed so let me make it clear though that while I am not in favor of raising fares across the board, I am in favor of developing a system of fares that include off-peak times and fare zones. 

Off-peak fares for nights and weekends, for example. I mean, weekend service is certainly lower in frequency. Why shouldn’t the corresponding fare be as well. Most people use the system during peak hours anyway. Raise the peak fare. Do not raise the off-peak fare. Keep it as a low cost, attractive alternative to taking the car. 

Possibly fare zones would help as well. Let’s face it, the crowding is centralized. Keep the outlying fares low so people out there aren’t charged for a problem they aren’t contributing too. The London tube zones were well in this regard.

I am fully in favor of raising tolls and even more in favor of the congestion charge. Why? Because traffic in this city is appalling.  It has gone from being an annoyance and an inconvience to being a hinderance and an obstacle to life, business and the city itself. We need raise the pain level of choosing the car over public transport. Raise the tolls to some absurd rate, put that cash toward improving public transport and possibly, just possibly, the number of people using public transport will go up. Revenue will go up and traffic will go down. What? It could happen.

Don’t whine about the impact on higher tolls on shipment of goods etc. This is New York – land of multi-layered rules and regulations. A tiered-toll system can be worked out to manage the impact on cost of consumer goods is minimized. Don’t bleat at me about people who NEED to drive into Manhattan for work Yes, there ARE people who do need to drive in but I’m willing to bet that over half of those who claim this need don’t know the difference between NEED and WANT. No, you don’t need to. And if public transportation were better maintained, better equipped and more reliable, you wouldn’t want to.

So, why not suck it up for a while and see how it goes.