MTA projects 2012 surplus, but deficits to follow

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MTA projects 2012 surplus, but deficits to follow
Posted by Gold_12TH on Thu Jul 26 03:25:03 2012 edf40wrjww2msgDetailB:detailStr fiogf49gjkf0d The Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Wednesday projected slight budget surpluses in 2012 and 2013 but said deficits are expected to return in the three years following that. In releasing its 2013 preliminary budget, the MTA, which runs the nation's largest mass transit system, said the $13.1 billion plan relied on components including continued fare and toll increases every other year as well as three years of no overall labor cost increases. "The MTA's underlying cost structure is increasing for reasons that are beyond the authority's control, so we are depending on all stakeholders coming to the table to find ways to address those areas that we can control," MTA Chairman Joseph Lhota said in a statement, referring in part to pension and health care costs. Transport Workers Union Local 100 President John Samuelson said that he didn't put any faith in the numbers in the MTA's preliminary budget and that his members, who are working without a contract as negotiations continue, wouldn't agree to a new contract with no raises. "At the end of the day, it's not unreasonable for New York transit workers to get raises that match inflation," he said. "We're the ones that make this system run." A toll and fare increase is expected for 2013 and again in 2015. The MTA is looking for the 2013 hike to bring in $450 million a year and the 2015 hike to bring in $500 million. The agency didn't release specifics for how the tolls and fares would be increased. The agency last week said it would be adding and extending service on dozens of bus routes in a $29 million service enhancement plan. The MTA projected that 2012 would end with a $46 million surplus, with a similar balance in 2013. But the deficit would be $129 million in 2014, $14 million in 2015 and $231 million in 2016. The MTA board will vote on the 2013 budget in December. An increase in the current bus and subway fare, $2.50 for a ride or $2.25 per trip using a multi-ride MetroCard, would go into effect in March.
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Re: MTA projects 2012 surplus, but deficits to follow
Posted by Gold_12TH* on Thu Jul 26 03:32:47 2012, in response to MTA projects 2012 surplus, but deficits to follow, posted by Gold_12TH on Thu Jul 26 03:25:03 2012.* edf40wrjww2msgDetailB:detailStr fiogf49gjkf0d MTA Unveils Preliminary 2013 Budget The plan is “risk-laden.” The finances are “fragile.” And if the economy falters, do not count on a supple rainy-day fund. This, officials said, is what optimism looks like at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. In a proposal that board members have greeted as a welcome contrast to the deep service cuts in 2010, the authority released its $13.1 billion preliminary 2013 budget on Wednesday, less than a week after announcing its plans to expand and restore some service amid a sunnier fiscal picture. Myriad caveats, though, applied. During his presentation to board members on Wednesday, Robert Foran, the agency’s chief financial officer, emphasized the authority’s long-term vulnerabilities to economic uncertainty, employee and retiree health care costs and pension costs, among other concerns. “I believe we can manage,” Mr. Foran said, “if all the things fall in place.” Joseph J. Lhota, the authority’s chairman, said that he was pleased the budget could be balanced in the near term, and that he was “more optimistic” about the agency’s economic viability than he was when he began his job in January. But even as ridership revenues have increased, Mr. Lhota said he worried about the “long-term trend in our expenses.” “The M.T.A.'s underlying cost structure is increasing for reasons that are beyond the authority’s control,” he added, “so we are depending on all stakeholders’ coming to the table to find ways to address those areas that we can control.” The authority has cited some savings estimates that appear hard to predict, including an expected $22 million in annual savings resulting from attempts to curb fare evasion on buses. The authority also hopes to cut the costs of its transit operations for disabled riders, estimating more than $230 million in annual savings by 2016. Expected changes include an initiative to give free MetroCards to users of Access-A-Ride — which offers prearranged trips, often door-to-door, to disabled New Yorkers for $2.25 — as an incentive to ride standard buses or subways instead. Access-A-Ride costs the authority about $60 per trip, officials said last month. One budget linchpin is an expected fare increase, scheduled for March and expected to generate $450 million a year in increased revenue. In November, the authority’s board will see an updated budget forecast, and in December, it will vote to adopt the budget. Though some public speakers at the agency’s board meeting on Wednesday argued against a fare increase, many more came to thank the agency for the proposed service changes, including a permanent extension of the G train to Church Avenue in Brooklyn and a new bus route along the Far West Side of Manhattan. Even this round of endorsements gave Mr. Lhota pause. “When you get laudatory comments like that,” he said later, “there’s only one place to go from there.” ---http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/26/nyregion/mta-unveils-preliminary-2013-budget.html?_r=1
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Re: MTA projects 2012 surplus, but deficits to follow
Posted by Gotham Bus Co.* on Thu Jul 26 05:44:17 2012, in response to MTA projects 2012 surplus, but deficits to follow, posted by Gold_12TH on Thu Jul 26 03:25:03 2012.* edf40wrjww2msgDetailB:detailStr fiogf49gjkf0d ["At the end of the day, it's not unreasonable for New York transit workers to get raises that match inflation...."] Why? The passengers haven't gotten a raise. Passengers have remained stuck or had pay cuts, in some cases to zero.
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Re: MTA projects 2012 surplus, but deficits to follow
Posted by SUBWAYSURF* on Thu Jul 26 08:07:38 2012, in response to Re: MTA projects 2012 surplus, but deficits to follow, posted by Gotham Bus Co. on Thu Jul 26 05:44:17 2012.* edf40wrjww2msgDetailB:detailStr fiogf49gjkf0d I'm a passenger. I got a raise last month.
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Re: MTA projects 2012 surplus, but deficits to follow
Posted by BigBusDriver* on Fri Jul 27 13:03:38 2012, in response to Re: MTA projects 2012 surplus, but deficits to follow, posted by Gotham Bus Co. on Thu Jul 26 05:44:17 2012.* edf40wrjww2msgDetailB:detailStr fiogf49gjkf0d Take a look at the trains letting loose the passengers on the Wall Street station. The bankers and the brokers have gotten theirs, when do transit workers get theirs?
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