The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which accounts for two-thirds of all rail riders in the nation, has made a dramatic comeback since the 1970s and 1980s, when it was known for graffiti-covered subway cars and delay-plagued commuter trains. But serving more than 8 million public transit customers efficiently each day requires billions of dollars, and the MTA is falling short, budget wise. It has a deficit of $6 billion, which could delay its plans to modernize and expand the system, which will cost billions more.
MTA Executive Director and CEO Elliott “Lee” Sander said the authority needs the public”™s and business community”™s support as it seeks $5 billion to $10 billion in additional appropriations from the state Legislature. He made his remarks in a keynote speech at Pattern for Progress”™s breakfast at the Grand Hotel in Poughkeepsie on Feb. 7.
The MTA has an annual operating budget of $10 billion, plus a $22 billion five-year capital budget. Besides the request for extra funding, the MTA is seeking to close the gap by requiring its seven agencies to reduce spending by 1.5 percent annually over the next five years. It also has embarked on an aggressive plan to cut costs by making the organization more efficient, Sander said.
Sander, who was appointed to his post by Gov. Eliot Spitzer, took over the leadership of the sprawling organization in January 2007. The largest public transportation network and toll authority in North America, the MTA is comprised of seven agencies: New York City Transit, Metro-North Railroad, the Long Island Rail Road, MTA Bridges and Tunnels, MTA Bus Co., MTA Capital Construction, and Long Island Bus. It has about 70,000 employees.
Prior to joining the MTA, Sander held executive positions in the transportation industry in both the private and public sectors, including commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation under Mayor Rudolph Giuliani in the mid-1990s.
He is a central figure in formulating transportation policy for both the region and the nation, having been appointed to the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission by U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel. Sander is also chair of the American Public Transportation Association”™s Transit 2050 Vision Task Force and serves on the New York City Traffic Congestion Mitigation Commission.
Portions of the MTA are “reminiscent of the 1930s,” Sander said. “We”™re a veritable poster child of a Soviet-style pyramid. The structure hasn”™t changed since 1968.”
As part of its transformation into a “lean, flatter, more integrated organization,” the MTA just completed a consolidation of its information technology, payroll, human resources and other back-office systems into a single business service center, resulting in $30 million to $40 million in savings, he said.
Another money-saving plan is integrating the organization”™s three bus companies into one operation, he said. The alignment of procurement, lost and found and other services at the two railroads is also under way. Sander said the cost-cutting wouldn”™t result in any service reductions. In fact, there are plans to bring Metro-North trains into Penn Station, providing Hudson Valley passengers with better access to New Jersey”™s transit lines, and Long Island Rail Road trains into Grand Central Terminal. The goal is more regional “interoperability.”
Sander said that Metro-North had a 97 percent on-time performance rating in 2007, which was a tenth of a percent drop from the year before. Its ridership has grown by 15 percent in the past decade and is up more than 94 percent since 1983. The number of trains has increased 21 percent in the past 10 years, and the number of employees is up 11 percent.
Sander outlined strategies on several other fronts:
Planning and new projects. In the Hudson Valley, Metro-North will also play a key role in planning for the 20 percent population growth predicted for the region, Sander said. The transit links established at Beacon and Newburgh are a model for future development in the region, he said.
The MTA is collaborating with the state Department of Transportation on the new plan for the Tappan Zee Bridge, which “has to include a transit component,” Sander said. “A rail component is essential, but I”™m open to bus rapid transit.”
He said the MTA is working with the Port Authority on a draft environmental impact statement alternative “examining the options to link Stewart International Airport with local districts, including the Port Jervis rail line.” The aim is to ensure a balanced approach to the airport”™s impact on regional growth. The MTA is also working with the state Department of Transportation to “advance the concept of high-speed rail from New York to Albany.”
Customer service. Sander said Metro-North has “led the pack in customer service.” Not only is Metro-North”™s on-time rating “extraordinary” for a public transit system, but the line has also benefited from ancillary improvements. For example, service was expanded to the Pascack Valley line, west of the Hudson River. “We understand just how important Rockland and Orange is for our growth,” Sander said.
Metro-North has also partnered with Enterprise Rent-A-Car to open offices at 23 stations starting in June. Another service initiative that seems minor but is actually quite significant is posting a lost and found service on the rail line”™s Web site, Sander said.
Sander said the Metro-North station at White Plains was a “model for our new customer relations technology.” This includes real-time service announcements, which is expanding to 16 stations in March. Metro-North will also introduce hand-held ticketing devices that will enable customers to buy tickets by credit card onboard the trains. The devices will also collect data that”™s meaningful from a management standpoint.
Calling will become easier in the New York subways: the MTA has just signed a contract with a vendor to provide cell phone service to the system”™s underground stations.
Workforce development. With a quarter of MTA workers eligible for retirement in the next five years, the MTA needs to implement a succession plan. A blue-ribbon panel led by board member Susan Metzger has recommended 61 actions on the issue.
Sander said “to attract the best talent,” the MTA was breaking down the internal boundaries within the organization to enable individuals seeking a career track to move between agencies. As it is, passengers are flowing through the system, with a third of Metro-North riders also taking the New York City subways, he said.
Emergency response. The MTA now has the ability to move its assets around for the creation of redundant services in the event of an emergency. Sander said the new emergency response center was implemented last year and enabled the MTA to serve train passengers on city subway lines after flooding led to the closing of some rail lines.
Security. Sander said the MTA has invested $700 million in enhanced security measures. It has dramatically increased the deployment of police in response to terrorist threats, from 50 weekly train patrols to 1,000, and changed its security tactics. The MTA is working more closely with other agencies, such as the city and state police departments, the federal Transportation Security Administration, and the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey to improve security.
Sustainability. “We want to be a leader in reducing our carbon footprint,” Sander said. A blue-ribbon panel has been formed to figure out ways to do this. The findings will be released on Earth Day, Sander said.
