MTA Requests $3.9B in Funding on Heels of Economic Analysis
Written by Andrew Corselli
The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) issued a letter to the New York State Congressional Delegation immediately requesting $3.9 billion in federal funding as Congress considers its next COVID-19 relief package.
In addition, the MTA released a new third-party economic analysis by McKinsey & Company examining the expected impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the MTA’s operating budget, which projects the full impact of the pandemic to reach up to $8.5 billion in 2020. The analysis examines how ridership will be impacted this year when the system begins to rebound, and projects a massive drop in toll and farebox revenue between $4.7-$5.9 billion, a significant decline in dedicated state and local tax revenues between $1.6-$1.8 billion, and a huge growth in costs associated with customer and employee safety of up to $800 million.
“I am requesting that the next federal legislation include an additional $3.9 billion to stem the immediate financial hemorrhaging in the MTA’s 2020 operating budget,” MTA Chairman and CEO Patrick J. Foye said in a letter to the New York Congressional Delegation, which, along with McKinsey & Company’s economic analysis, can be found below. “In a few short weeks, the crisis in New York has dramatically worsened and we are projecting significant additional losses as a result of the extraordinary economic downturn facing the region and nation. I thank the New York Congressional Delegation for their leadership in securing the first round of funding and we are once again asking Congress to step up and do the right thing for our millions of customers, tens of thousands of employees and for all of New York and the nation.”
Last month, the MTA secured nearly $4 billion in federal funding through the CARES Act. The COVID-19 crisis has since worsened dramatically in New York, dwarfing initial estimates and requiring a new and detailed economic analysis. Ridership has declined 93% on subways, 95% on Metro-North and 97% on the Long Island Railroad with bridge and tunnel crossings declining 62%. The MTA is immediately requesting $3.9 billion in emergency funding from the federal government, which is the midpoint of the projected range of impact examined in the analysis on the MTA’s 2020 operating budget, after subtracting the $3.8 billion slated to be delivered in the CARES Act.
