“Recent modest financial gains” will allow the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to stave off “worst case” service cuts that had been eliminated for 2021, but had been discussed for 2022, as well as immediate associated layoffs.
Here’s a closer look at the provisions and what they could mean for agencies, advocates and riders alike.
Five commuter rail agencies will receive a total of $40.26 million in grants for highway/rail grade crossing improvements from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), in coordination with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA). The awards are part of round one of the Commuter Authority Rail Safety Improvement (CARSI) Grants Program.
Congress reached an agreement Dec. 20 on a nearly $900 billion pandemic relief package, and approved a one-day stop-gap bill to avoid a government shutdown and allow time for a vote, expected Dec. 21. It’s anticipated that the package will be combined with a $1.4 trillion omnibus spending bill that will fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year. The bill includes $14 billion for transit and $1 billion for Amtrak.
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is distributing $1.37 million in grants among six transit agencies for projects that demonstrate and evaluate innovative technologies to maintain a state of good repair.
The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority outlined a “worst-case” 2021 spending plan at its Nov. 18 Board meeting. Proposed are service reductions of 40% across subways and buses, and of 50% across Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and Metro-North Railroad (MNR), with layoffs of nearly 9,400. Also on continued pause: MTA’s $51.5 billion capital plan. The moves could go forward in absence of $12 billion in federal aid, MTA said.
New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has made “major progress on implementing Positive Train Control (PTC) on MTA Long Island Rail Road and MTA Metro-North Railroad, reaffirming both railroads will be in full PTC operations by the end of 2020.”
The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and Transit Innovation Partnership launched a new “COVID-19 Response Challenge” in an effort to engage the private tech industry and rapidly evaluate and deploy innovative technologies that make public transit safer, healthier and more responsive to customer and workforce needs in light of the global pandemic.
According to a report in THE CITY, the New York MTA is expected to announce that a 60-day hold on capital projects announced in March will remain in place while the transit agency tries to secure another $3.9 billion in emergency federal funding.
According to a report on Bloomberg.com, New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) will run out of money in August if the U.S. Senate does not approve the economic stimulus measure that would provide about $3.9 billion to the agency, Chairman Patrick Foye said.
