(Bloomberg) — New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority approved a 2021 budget that hinges on a potential $4.5 billion of federal funds to avoid deep service cuts and layoffs.
The MTA held off on voting, for now, on fare and toll hikes, employee reductions of more than 9,300, a 40% cut in subway and bus service and slashing commuter rail service in half. The agency may need to consider those changes as early as January if Congress fails to allocate necessary aid, Pat Foye, the MTA’s chief executive officer, warned the board during a meeting Wednesday.
“Federal funding remains our best shot at survival,” Foye said.
With President-elect Joe Biden, a long-time Amtrak commuter, set to take office on Jan. 20, the MTA, the largest U.S. transit network, and other public transportation systems across the country are optimistic that federal help will be arriving shortly.
MTA has lost revenue as ridership has fallen dramatically during the coronavirus pandemic and McKinsey & Co. has estimated it may not fully rebound until 2024.
While the $4.5 billion of potential federal funds would help balance the MTA’s 2021 budget, the system faces an estimated $16 billion deficit through 2024, according to budget documents. That gap is reduced to $8 billion after the MTA implements planned spending cuts and redirects revenue from the capital plan.
“We do have, going forward, significant deficits to be addressed,” Bob Foran, the MTA’s chief financial officer, said during the meeting.