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MTA May Slash Budget, Scrap Service Improvements

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Jun 22, 2008 11:00 pm US/Eastern

MTA May Slash Budget, Scrap Service Improvements

Manhattan & Brooklyn Commuters To Be Hit The Hardest

Reporting
Dave Carlin

NEW YORK (CBS) ―

Click to enlarge 1 of 1: MTA board members will vote on whether or not to scrap certain service improvements to stay under their budget.
AP

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The MTA is about to consider slashing its budget once again, hitting commuters in Manhattan and Brooklyn hard.

Some MTA leaders will go over plans to make up a $2-3 billion shortfall in its current capital plan. Sources told CBS 2 HD station improvements, signal upgrades, and paint jobs would be scrapped.

Bearing the brunt of the proposed cuts would be Manhattan and Brooklyn. Many riders react with "here we go again."

"I don't know how they can improve stuff by cutting, but maybe they know something we don't know," a straphanger said.

"I don't know why they have a problem with using the money properly," added another straphanger.

Earlier this month MTA Executive Director Elliot Sander said his agency is "going over a cliff," because it is so deeply in the red. The financial problems are blamed in part due to rising fuel costs.

The emergency budget cuts said to go on the table Monday are expected to be followed by a fare hike next year, probably from the current $2 to $2.25 per ride.

"I think they're going crazy now," said an angry NYC resident.

Raising fares twice within two years is something that hasn't happened in nearly 30-years. Last week Attorney General Andrew Cuomo spoke out on another way for the MTA to save money - by getting rid of freebie E-Z passes which allow current and former MTA board members unlimited rides for free.

"I don't understand it legally and I don't understand it personally - especially at a time when the MTA is crying poverty," said Cuomo.

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