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|caption=The '''Metropolitan Transportation Authority''' (MTA) provides local and express bus, subway, and regional rail service in Greater New York, and operates multiple toll bridges and tunnels in New York City.
|caption=The '''Metropolitan Transportation Authority''' (MTA) provides local and express bus, subway, and regional rail service in Greater New York, and operates multiple toll bridges and tunnels in New York City.
|locale=[[New York City]]<br>[[Long Island]]<br>Lower [[Hudson Valley]]<br>[[Coastal Connecticut]]
|locale=[[New York City]]<br>[[Long Island]]<br>Lower [[Hudson Valley]]<br>[[Coastal Connecticut]]
|chief_executive=Thomas F. Prendergast (CEO & Chairman)<ref>[http://www.mta.info/mta/leadership/management.htm MTA Management Team]. Mta.info. Retrieved on July 26, 2013.</ref>
|chief_executive=Thomas F. Prendergast (CEO & Chairman)<ref>[http://web.mta.info/mta/leadership/management.htm MTA Management Team]. Mta.info. Retrieved on April 9, 2014.</ref>
|transit_type=Commuter rail, local and express bus, subway, bus rapid transit
|transit_type=Commuter rail, local and express bus, subway, bus rapid transit
|headquarters=347 Madison Avenue, [[Manhattan|New York]], [[New York|NY]] 10017
|headquarters=347 Madison Avenue, [[Manhattan|New York]], [[New York|NY]] 10017
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|website=[http://mta.info mta.info]
|website=[http://mta.info mta.info]
}}
}}
The '''Metropolitan Transportation Authority''' ('''MTA''') is a [[New York state public benefit corporations|public benefit corporation]] responsible for [[public transportation]] in the [[U.S. state]] of [[New York]], serving 12 counties in southeastern New York, along with two counties in southwestern [[Connecticut]] under contract to the [[Connecticut Department of Transportation]], carrying over 11 million passengers on an average weekday systemwide, and over 800,000 vehicles on its [[MTA Bridges and Tunnels|seven toll bridges and two tunnels]] per weekday.<ref>[http://www.mta.info/bandt/html/btintro.htm MTA – About Bridges & Tunnels]</ref>
The '''Metropolitan Transportation Authority''' ('''MTA''') is a [[New York state public benefit corporations|public benefit corporation]] responsible for [[public transportation]] in the [[U.S. state]] of [[New York]], serving 12 counties in southeastern New York, along with two counties in southwestern [[Connecticut]] under contract to the [[Connecticut Department of Transportation]], carrying over 11 million passengers on an average weekday systemwide, and over 800,000 vehicles on its [[MTA Bridges and Tunnels|seven toll bridges and two tunnels]] per weekday.<ref>[http://web.mta.info/bandt/html/btintro.html MTA – About Bridges & Tunnels]</ref>


==History==
==History==
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The MTA has the responsibility for developing and implementing a unified mass transportation policy for the [[New York metropolitan area]], including all five boroughs of [[New York City]] and the suburban counties of [[Dutchess County, New York|Dutchess]], [[Nassau County, New York|Nassau]], [[Orange County, New York|Orange]], [[Putnam County, New York|Putnam]], [[Rockland County, New York|Rockland]], [[Suffolk County, New York|Suffolk]] and [[Westchester County, New York|Westchester]], all of which together are the "Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District (MCTD)". Thomas F. Prendergast is currently the Chairman & CEO of the MTA. Nuria Fernandez is currently the MTA's Chief Operating Officer (COO).
The MTA has the responsibility for developing and implementing a unified mass transportation policy for the [[New York metropolitan area]], including all five boroughs of [[New York City]] and the suburban counties of [[Dutchess County, New York|Dutchess]], [[Nassau County, New York|Nassau]], [[Orange County, New York|Orange]], [[Putnam County, New York|Putnam]], [[Rockland County, New York|Rockland]], [[Suffolk County, New York|Suffolk]] and [[Westchester County, New York|Westchester]], all of which together are the "Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District (MCTD)". Thomas F. Prendergast is currently the Chairman & CEO of the MTA. Nuria Fernandez is currently the MTA's Chief Operating Officer (COO).


The MTA's immediate past chairpersons were: Richard Ravitch (1979–1983), Robert Kiley (1983–1991), Peter Stangl (1991–1995), Virgil Conway (1995–2001), Peter S. Kalikow (2001–2007), Dale Hemmerdinger (2007–2009), Jay Walder (2009–2011), and Joseph Lhota<ref>Joseph Lhota Tapped by Governor Cuomo to Head MTA http://mta.info/news/stories/?story=423</ref> (2012).
The MTA's immediate past chairpersons were: Richard Ravitch (1979–1983), Robert Kiley (1983–1991), Peter Stangl (1991–1995), Virgil Conway (1995–2001), Peter S. Kalikow (2001–2007), Dale Hemmerdinger (2007–2009), Jay Walder (2009–2011), and Joseph Lhota<ref>[http://www.mta.info/news/2011/10/21/joseph-lhota-tapped-governor-cuomo-head-mta Joseph Lhota Tapped by Governor Cuomo to Head MTA]. October 21, 2011.</ref> (2012).


The MTA is the largest regional public transportation provider in the Western Hemisphere. Its agencies serve a region of approximately 14.6 million people spread over 5,000 square miles (13,000&nbsp;km²) in 12 New York Counties and two in Connecticut. MTA agencies now move more than 8.5 million customers per day (2.6 billion rail and bus customers a year) and employ approximately 65,000 workers.
The MTA is the largest regional public transportation provider in the Western Hemisphere. Its agencies serve a region of approximately 14.6 million people spread over 5,000 square miles (13,000&nbsp;km²) in 12 New York Counties and two in Connecticut. MTA agencies now move more than 8.5 million customers per day (2.6 billion rail and bus customers a year) and employ approximately 65,000 workers.


==Subsidiaries and affiliates==
==Subsidiaries and affiliates==
MTA carries out these planning and other responsibilities both directly and through its subsidiaries and affiliates, and provides oversight to these subordinate agencies, known collectively as "The Related Entities".<ref name="mta_related_entities">{{citation | title=Appendix A: The Related Entities | publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority | pages=A–3 | year=2002 | url=http://www.mta.info/mta/investor/pdf/2002app-a-v2.pdf |format=PDF| accessdate=March 28, 2008 }}</ref> The Related Entities represent a number of previously existing agencies which have come under the MTA umbrella. In turn, these previously existing agencies were (with the exception of [[MTA Bridges and Tunnels]] and [[MTA Capital Construction]]) successors to the property of private companies that provided substantially the same services.
MTA carries out these planning and other responsibilities both directly and through its subsidiaries and affiliates, and provides oversight to these subordinate agencies, known collectively as "The Related Entities".<ref name="mta_related_entities">{{citation | title=Appendix A: The Related Entities | publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority | pages=A–3 | year=2002 | url=http://web.mta.info/mta/investor/pdf/2002app-a-v2.pdf |format=PDF| accessdate=March 28, 2008 }}</ref> The Related Entities represent a number of previously existing agencies which have come under the MTA umbrella. In turn, these previously existing agencies were (with the exception of [[MTA Bridges and Tunnels]] and [[MTA Capital Construction]]) successors to the property of private companies that provided substantially the same services.


Each of these Related Entities has a ''popular name'' and in some cases, a former, ''legal name''. The popular names were part of an overall corporate identification effort in 1994 to eliminate the confusion over the affiliations of the various "authorities" that were part of the MTA.<ref name="nyt_19940828">{{citation | last=McKinley | first=James C, Jr. | title= What's in a Symbol? A Lot, the M.T.A. Is Betting | newspaper=[[New York Times]] | date=August 28, 1994 | url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9903E6D81E39F93BA1575BC0A962958260 | accessdate=February 23, 2008 }}</ref> Legal names have since only been used for legal documents, such as contracts, and have not been used publicly; however, since the mid-2000s, the popular name has also been used for legal documents related to contract procurements where the legal name was used heretofore. Both are listed below.
Each of these Related Entities has a ''popular name'' and in some cases, a former, ''legal name''. The popular names were part of an overall corporate identification effort in 1994 to eliminate the confusion over the affiliations of the various "authorities" that were part of the MTA.<ref name="nyt_19940828">{{citation | last=McKinley | first=James C, Jr. | title= What's in a Symbol? A Lot, the M.T.A. Is Betting | newspaper=[[New York Times]] | date=August 28, 1994 | url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9903E6D81E39F93BA1575BC0A962958260 | accessdate=February 23, 2008 }}</ref> Legal names have since only been used for legal documents, such as contracts, and have not been used publicly; however, since the mid-2000s, the popular name has also been used for legal documents related to contract procurements where the legal name was used heretofore. Both are listed below.
Line 77: Line 77:


===Causes===
===Causes===
The MTA has consistently run on a deficit, but increased spending in 2000–04 coupled with the economic downturn led to a severe increase in the financial burden that the MTA bore. The budget problems stem from multiple sources. The MTA cannot be supported solely by rider fares and road tolls. In the preliminary 2011 budget, MTA forecasted operating revenue totaled at $6.5 billion, amount to only 50% of the $13 billion operating expenses.<ref>Metropolitan Transportation Authority. (July 2010). ''MTA 2011 Preliminary Budget. July Financial Plan 2011–2014.'' Retrieved from [http://mta.info/mta/budget/july2010/july2010_vol1.pdf].</ref> Therefore the MTA must rely on other sources of funding to remain operational. Revenue collected from [[real estate tax]]es for transportation purposes helped to contain the deficit. However, due to the weak economy and unstable [[real estate]] market, money from these taxes severely decreased; in 2010, tax revenue fell at least 20% short of the projected value.<ref>Smerd, Jeremy. (June 23, 2010). Another Tax Shortfall Hits the MTA's Budget. ''Crain's New York Business.'' Retrieved from [http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20100623/FREE/100629924].</ref> Beyond this, steadily reducing support from city and state governments led to borrowing money by issuing bonds, which contributed heavily to the debt.<ref>Gupta, Arun and Valdes, Danny. (June 5, 2009). Why the MTA is Broken. ''The Indypendent.'' Retrieved from [http://indypendent.org/2009/06/04/mta-is-broken/].</ref>
The MTA has consistently run on a deficit, but increased spending in 2000–04 coupled with the economic downturn led to a severe increase in the financial burden that the MTA bore. The budget problems stem from multiple sources. The MTA cannot be supported solely by rider fares and road tolls. In the preliminary 2011 budget, MTA forecasted operating revenue totaled at $6.5 billion, amount to only 50% of the $13 billion operating expenses.<ref>Metropolitan Transportation Authority. (July 2010). ''MTA 2011 Preliminary Budget. July Financial Plan 2011–2014.'' Retrieved from [http://web.mta.info/mta/budget/july2010/july2010_vol1.pdf].</ref> Therefore the MTA must rely on other sources of funding to remain operational. Revenue collected from [[real estate tax]]es for transportation purposes helped to contain the deficit. However, due to the weak economy and unstable [[real estate]] market, money from these taxes severely decreased; in 2010, tax revenue fell at least 20% short of the projected value.<ref>Smerd, Jeremy. (June 23, 2010). Another Tax Shortfall Hits the MTA's Budget. ''Crain's New York Business.'' Retrieved from [http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20100623/FREE/100629924].</ref> Beyond this, steadily reducing support from city and state governments led to borrowing money by issuing bonds, which contributed heavily to the debt.<ref>Gupta, Arun and Valdes, Danny. (June 5, 2009). Why the MTA is Broken. ''The Indypendent.'' Retrieved from [http://indypendent.org/2009/06/04/mta-is-broken/].</ref>


===Results===
===Results===

Revision as of 04:26, 10 April 2014

Metropolitan Transportation Authority
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) provides local and express bus, subway, and regional rail service in Greater New York, and operates multiple toll bridges and tunnels in New York City.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) provides local and express bus, subway, and regional rail service in Greater New York, and operates multiple toll bridges and tunnels in New York City.
Overview
LocaleNew York City
Long Island
Lower Hudson Valley
Coastal Connecticut
Transit typeCommuter rail, local and express bus, subway, bus rapid transit
Number of lines
  • 17 commuter rail
    • Staten Island Railway
    • 5 Metro-North
    • 11 LIRR
  • 24 subway
  • 341 bus routes
    • 273 local routes
    • 63 express routes
    • 5 BRT routes
Daily ridership8,552,646 (weekday; all modes)
Chief executiveThomas F. Prendergast (CEO & Chairman)[1]
Headquarters347 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Websitemta.info
Operation
Began operation1965
Number of vehicles2,404 commuter rail cars
6,311 subway
63 SIR cars
5,701 buses

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the U.S. state of New York, serving 12 counties in southeastern New York, along with two counties in southwestern Connecticut under contract to the Connecticut Department of Transportation, carrying over 11 million passengers on an average weekday systemwide, and over 800,000 vehicles on its seven toll bridges and two tunnels per weekday.[2]

History

Chartered by the New York State Legislature in 1965 as the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Authority (MCTA) it initially was created to purchase and operate the bankrupt Long Island Rail Road. The MCTA dropped the word "Commuter" from its name and became the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in 1968 when it took over operations of the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) and Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA), now MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) and MTA Bridges and Tunnels (B&T) respectively. The agency also acquired through lease the New York State commuter trackage of Penn Central Transportation's Hudson, Harlem and New Haven lines, contracting their subsidized operation to Penn Central, until that company's operations were folded into Conrail in 1976. The MTA took over full operations in 1983, as the Metro-North Commuter Railroad.

Responsibilities and service area

Thomas F. Prendergast, current Chairman and CEO of MTA

The MTA has the responsibility for developing and implementing a unified mass transportation policy for the New York metropolitan area, including all five boroughs of New York City and the suburban counties of Dutchess, Nassau, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Suffolk and Westchester, all of which together are the "Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District (MCTD)". Thomas F. Prendergast is currently the Chairman & CEO of the MTA. Nuria Fernandez is currently the MTA's Chief Operating Officer (COO).

The MTA's immediate past chairpersons were: Richard Ravitch (1979–1983), Robert Kiley (1983–1991), Peter Stangl (1991–1995), Virgil Conway (1995–2001), Peter S. Kalikow (2001–2007), Dale Hemmerdinger (2007–2009), Jay Walder (2009–2011), and Joseph Lhota[3] (2012).

The MTA is the largest regional public transportation provider in the Western Hemisphere. Its agencies serve a region of approximately 14.6 million people spread over 5,000 square miles (13,000 km²) in 12 New York Counties and two in Connecticut. MTA agencies now move more than 8.5 million customers per day (2.6 billion rail and bus customers a year) and employ approximately 65,000 workers.

Subsidiaries and affiliates

MTA carries out these planning and other responsibilities both directly and through its subsidiaries and affiliates, and provides oversight to these subordinate agencies, known collectively as "The Related Entities".[4] The Related Entities represent a number of previously existing agencies which have come under the MTA umbrella. In turn, these previously existing agencies were (with the exception of MTA Bridges and Tunnels and MTA Capital Construction) successors to the property of private companies that provided substantially the same services.

Each of these Related Entities has a popular name and in some cases, a former, legal name. The popular names were part of an overall corporate identification effort in 1994 to eliminate the confusion over the affiliations of the various "authorities" that were part of the MTA.[5] Legal names have since only been used for legal documents, such as contracts, and have not been used publicly; however, since the mid-2000s, the popular name has also been used for legal documents related to contract procurements where the legal name was used heretofore. Both are listed below.

Subsidiary agencies

Affiliate agencies

  • MTA New York City Transit (NYCT)
    (legal name – no longer publicly used: New York City Transit Authority and its subsidiary, the Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority (MaBSTOA). NOTE: The Bus division is now managed under Regional Bus.)

Governance

The MTA is governed by a 19-member board representing the 5 boroughs of New York City and each of the counties in its New York State service area.

Five members, in addition to the Chairman and CEO, are directly nominated by the Governor of New York, with four recommended by New York City’s mayor, and one each by the county executives of Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties. Each of these members has one vote.

The county executives of Dutchess, Orange, Rockland, and Putnam counties also nominate one member each, but these members cast one collective vote. The Board also has six rotating nonvoting seats held by representatives of MTA employee organized labor and the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee, which serves as a voice for users of MTA transit and commuter facilities.

All board members are confirmed by the New York State Senate.

Budget Issues

The budget deficit of the MTA is a growing crisis for the organization as well as New York City and State residents and legislature. The MTA held $31 billion in debt in 2010 and it also suffered from a $900 million gap in its operating budget for 2011.[6]

Causes

The MTA has consistently run on a deficit, but increased spending in 2000–04 coupled with the economic downturn led to a severe increase in the financial burden that the MTA bore. The budget problems stem from multiple sources. The MTA cannot be supported solely by rider fares and road tolls. In the preliminary 2011 budget, MTA forecasted operating revenue totaled at $6.5 billion, amount to only 50% of the $13 billion operating expenses.[7] Therefore the MTA must rely on other sources of funding to remain operational. Revenue collected from real estate taxes for transportation purposes helped to contain the deficit. However, due to the weak economy and unstable real estate market, money from these taxes severely decreased; in 2010, tax revenue fell at least 20% short of the projected value.[8] Beyond this, steadily reducing support from city and state governments led to borrowing money by issuing bonds, which contributed heavily to the debt.[9]

Results

This budget deficit has resulted in various problems, mainly concentrated in New York City. New York City Subway fares have been increased four times since 2008, with the most recent occurring March 3, 2013, raising single-ride fares from $2.25 to $2.50, express service from $5.50 to $6 and the monthly MetroCard fare from $104 to $112.[10] Each fare raise was met with increasing resistance by MTA customers, and many are beginning to find the fare increases prohibitive. 2010 also saw heavy service cuts for many MTA subsidiaries.[11] Fewer trains spaced farther between resulted in heavy overcrowding beyond normal rush hours, leading to frustration for many subway and bus riders.[12]

MTA employees also suffered due to the budget issues. By mid-July 2010 MTA layoffs had reached over 1,000, and many of those affected were low-level employees who made less than $55,000 annually.[13]

Service animals

Service animals, including service dogs, are allowed on MTA public transportation in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), if the dog meets the law's definition of a service animal.

In 2013, a Brooklyn Federal Court judge ordered the MTA to pay a 70-year-old Manhattan woman $150,000 to settle a lawsuit over her service animal. The judge ruled that the MTA had violated the ADA when its drivers, motormen, and conductors denied the woman access to transportation with her dog, or improperly demanding to see identification for her dog.[14] The woman suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder, depression and partial hearing loss, according to her lawsuit filed in Brooklyn Federal Court.[14] U.S. District Judge Sandra Townes ruled in 2013 that a jury could reasonably conclude that transit officials showed “deliberate indifference” by not responding to her complaints.[14] A spokeswoman for the New York City Transit Authority said it would not take any remedial action in addition other than paying the $150,000 settlement.[14]

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ MTA Management Team. Mta.info. Retrieved on April 9, 2014.
  2. ^ MTA – About Bridges & Tunnels
  3. ^ Joseph Lhota Tapped by Governor Cuomo to Head MTA. October 21, 2011.
  4. ^ McKinley, James C, Jr. (August 28, 1994), "What's in a Symbol? A Lot, the M.T.A. Is Betting", New York Times, retrieved February 23, 2008{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ Drum Major Institute for Public Policy. (2010). Solving the MTA's Budget Crisis and Reinvesting in Mass Transit: A Five-Step Platform for the Next Governor of New York State. Retrieved from [1].
  6. ^ Metropolitan Transportation Authority. (July 2010). MTA 2011 Preliminary Budget. July Financial Plan 2011–2014. Retrieved from [2].
  7. ^ Smerd, Jeremy. (June 23, 2010). Another Tax Shortfall Hits the MTA's Budget. Crain's New York Business. Retrieved from [3].
  8. ^ Gupta, Arun and Valdes, Danny. (June 5, 2009). Why the MTA is Broken. The Indypendent. Retrieved from [4].
  9. ^ Namako, Tom. (October 7, 2010). MTA raises fares again, monthly MetroCard prices skyrocket to $104. New York Post. Retrieved from [5].
  10. ^ MTA approves massive service cuts. NYPOST.com (March 24, 2010). Retrieved on July 26, 2013.
  11. ^ Mooney, Jake. (July 26, 2010). MTA Cuts Mean Bigger Crowds, More Problems. City Limits News. Retrieved from [6].
  12. ^ Wells, Nicholas. (August 12, 2010). MTA Budget Deficit – Not Riders' Fault! Westview News. Retrieved from [7].
  13. ^ a b c d "City Transit will payout $150G to Manhattan rider over service dog harassment". NY Daily News. October 4, 2013. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
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