The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), which operates Metro-North Railroad, the Long Island Rail Road and the New York City buses and subways is looking for a cash infusion from the federal government of $4 billion to help cope with the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis as ridership plummets.
Latest daily ridership reports show Metro-North is down 90%, the LIRR is down 67%, the subways are down approximately 60% and bus ridership is down 49%.
Patrick J. Foye, chairman and CEO of the MTA, cited those figures in a letter to the New York congressional delegation. He asked for their help in obtaining federal aid.
“The MTA is now facing financial calamity,” Foye said, as a result of more and more people staying home as the virus spreads. “I am urgently requesting substantial federal aid at the level of MTA revenue losses ($3.7 billion assuming ridership trends this week continue for six months) and COVID-19 expenses (approximately $300 million annualized) as we continue to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.”
Foye hinted that the agency”™s financial hole could grow even deeper if an expected collapse of more than $6 billion in state and local taxes dedicated to the MTA occurs due to the economic slowdown that is unfolding.
“The MTA has already committed to finding $2.8 billion in savings over the next several years,” Foye said. “No agency of our size can find additional billions in savings equivalent to the damages we have and will sustain as a result of this pandemic. This is a national disaster that requires a national response.”
Foye said that the MTA is disinfecting all stations and points in the system that people touch twice a day. He said that each car in the railroad and subway fleet along with every bus is disinfected every 72 hours. He said that vehicles that specifically serve the disabled are being sanitized every day.
“Whatever the cost, the MTA”™s first priority is protecting the health of our customers as well as the brave MTA employees who continue to show up for work,” he said.
“New York produces nearly 10 percent of the entire U.S. GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and the nation will need a strong New York to fully rebound from the current crisis,” Foye said. “The mass transit system operated by the TA is essential to that objective and restoring it is a matter of national interest.”
