NEW YORK—A proposed law that would put a halt to fare increases and service cuts stemming from budget raids was supported by a coalition including transit workers, transportation organizations, business leaders, state Sen. Martin Golden, and Assemblyman James Brennan, who gathered at a subway station at Seventh Avenue and 41st Street on Thursday.
The legislation, titled the Transit Funding Lockbox Act, is intended to resolve the issue of funds marked for mass transit often being diverted. In the last two years, around $260 million was swept from the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) accounts into the general fund.
“They should not be sweeping operating funds from the MTA. If that money is put out there and we’re paying money and fees for that resource, if it’s not going toward that resource, it should be going back to the taxpayer,” said Sen. Golden at the press conference.
A public-private corporation that is subsidized by the state, the MTA serves approximately 7 million people a day.
The legislation, titled the Transit Funding Lockbox Act, is intended to resolve the issue of funds marked for mass transit often being diverted. In the last two years, around $260 million was swept from the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) accounts into the general fund.
“They should not be sweeping operating funds from the MTA. If that money is put out there and we’re paying money and fees for that resource, if it’s not going toward that resource, it should be going back to the taxpayer,” said Sen. Golden at the press conference.
A public-private corporation that is subsidized by the state, the MTA serves approximately 7 million people a day.
