NYS Comptroller: MTA Can’t Fully Fund $55B Capital Program
With a $2.9-billion budget hole, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority doesn’t have the resources to fully fund its $54.8-billion 2020-2024 capital program, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli reported Tuesday. He said the program is vital to improving riders’ experience and bringing them back to the transit system.
DiNapoli said his annual report on the MTA’s finances finds that delays to capital projects, severe revenue declines and a pandemic-related increase in borrowing are making the authority’s capital program to repair, modernize and expand the transit system appear increasingly unrealistic.
“The MTA and its riders face difficult years ahead, despite recent federal relief that helped avoid drastic short-term budget cuts,” DiNapoli said. “The MTA’s mounting debts and devastated revenue make it unlikely that it can afford all the work it planned. The numbers just don’t add up.”
MTA will need to find other sources of funding unless ridership improves rapidly, he added.