As the largest commuter railroad in the nation, the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) is making a steady recovery from the pandemic with growing ridership, increased service routes into the Grand Central Madison terminal and on-time performance in 2023 that was better than in 2019. Still, the LIRR had 31% more delays from train car problems last year than in 2019, showing there are still areas that can improve, such as increasing preventative maintenance of older train cars.

Motor vehicle fatalities in New York State have risen 25.8% since 2019, with fatalities in 2022 at the highest level in a decade, even as the number of vehicle miles travelled, licensed drivers and traffic accidents have declined. State lawmakers recently enacted “Sammy’s Law,” which allows New York City to reduce speed limits in certain “safety zones” that are prone to pedestrian traffic injuries and fatalities. Such discretion could be provided to other local governments looking for ways to make their roads safer.

With the loss of $15 billion in congestion pricing revenue, the MTA has to reprioritize its 2020-2024 Capital Program. This report identifies over $21 billion in projects that potentially relied on congestion pricing revenue and are under review and suggests the Authority prioritize keeping the system in a state of good repair.

The MTA’s capital program for maintaining and upgrading the regional transit system faces significant delays due to potential funding shortfalls caused by the late implementation of congestion pricing. The MTA should explain how it intends to prioritize its needs so that its choices do not result in disinvestment in the system, noting that bringing riders back would be one of the most direct routes for the MTA to reduce its debt burden over the long term.

In the throes of the economic uncertainty and fiscal turbulence caused by the COVID crisis, legislation was enacted as part of the SFY 2021-22 budget authorizing the use of State-supported bonding with final maturities up to 50 years for capital purposes for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. This legislation has been reauthorized and proposed again in the State Fiscal Year 2024-25 Executive Budget.

In October 2023, the MTA issued its latest 20 Year Needs Assessment (TYNA), which provides an unrestrained view of the capital needs of the system. This report from the Comptroller’s office examines the TYNA, reviews the depth of work needed to upgrade New York’s regional transit and highlights the urgent need for the MTA to state its priorities and funding plans as early as it can.

Costs for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) program to provide transportation services for people with disabilities have declined in recent years, in part due to the MTA’s move to alternative transit services that provided $102.7 million in savings in 2022. Still, some measures of customer satisfaction initially deteriorated as a result of the move to “broker services” and must be monitored to ensure quality service.

In a turnaround from the fiscal crisis it faced a year ago, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today stands on firmer financial ground, largely because the State budget provided dedicated sources of revenue to close projected budget gaps. With this improved financial picture, the burden is now on the MTA to improve the region’s transit system and win riders back, while keeping its budget balanced.

This report examines comparative data for 10 rural counties in New York to identify challenges faced by these communities and others like them, as well as opportunities. Population, employment, housing and other trends were considered, and these findings can be used as a baseline from which future trends can be measured. The median age of people living in these 10 rural counties increased at nearly twice the rate of the State between 2011 and 2021 while simultaneously population numbers declined.

Escalating debt service costs have long been a source of financial pressure at the MTA. The pandemic exacerbated these pressures causing ridership to drop and tax revenues to dry up. However, new sources of recurring revenue in the enacted State budget and other aid give the MTA an opportunity to ease the pressure that growing debt places on its operations and to stabilize its future finances.