FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 19, 2021
CONTACT: Peter Giunta, 347.621.8031
The following statement is from Assemblymember Michael Reilly (R-Staten Island) regarding today’s announcement from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority that they would move ahead with plans to increase tolls and fares later this year:
“Once again, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has proven that they have little sympathy for everyday New Yorkers, many of whom are either out of work or struggling to make ends meet. Today’s announcement that the MTA would, indeed, move forward with plans to increase tolls and fares sometime later this year, coupled with their repeated requests for a massive bailout from the federal government, is evidence of just how bad the MTA’s spending problems really are.
In a pathetic attempt to show pity, the MTA is offering to delay their fare increases for a few months – but only a fool would think that this is truly helpful. That’s not to say that this won’t help the millions of New Yorkers who rely on public transportation each and everyday, but it is simply delaying the inevitable and, in my opinion, extremely shortsighted.
What about the hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who don’t rely on public transportation, like many of my constituents, who instead commute to and from work using their personal vehicle? If this is about helping struggling New Yorkers and frontline workers, then why wouldn’t it be reflected by temporarily delaying fare and toll increases across the board? Quite frankly, that isn’t even enough.
The MTA has a spending problem that only continues to fester. There is one way to help New Yorkers, and that’s to lift the burden of the MTA’s spending problems off their shoulders by immediately freezing all current and future toll and fare increases – at least until the MTA gets serious about making reforms to cut spending.”