How Do You Get to the End of the 2nd Avenue Subway?

After nearly a century of false starts and stops, the Second Avenue Subway is due to open on the Upper East Side in December 2016. But that's just the project's first phase, which brings the Q train up to 96th Street. Now that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio have agreed on funding for the new MTA capital plan, work can begin the second phase, through East Harlem to 125th Street. But it's not clear where all of the money needed for the next five years will come from. After that, there will be more five-year plans in order to complete the second phase and bring the line south to the Lower East Side and Wall Street.

Already, the MTA draws on revenues from sales taxes, gas taxes, real estate taxes and other places to support its budget. Here are three ideas for new sources to bring the Second Avenue Subway, and other big projects, home:

1. Tax Real Estate More

Proponents of "value capture" believe in adding a small surcharge to the property taxes of buildings near new subway lines, since they benefit directly from the improvements. That's similar to what's happening with the No. 7 train extension to Hudson Yards. Washington, D.C. and London have also used this strategy, though one drawback is that it usually only brings in enough money to pay for part of a new subway line, not the entire cost. 

2. Toll the Bridges

Advocates of the Move NY Fair Plan would add tolls to the East River bridges that are currently free, along with new surcharges for taxis, Uber and Lyft. They estimate that would bring in an additional $1.125 billion for the MTA, plus additional money for roads and bridges. The plan is a variation on the congestion pricing plan that former Mayor Mike Bloomberg proposed in 2007, though the authors of the proposal say this plan is more equitable since tolls on some crossings, such as the Robert F. Kennedy and Verrazano-Narrows bridges, would actually decrease.

3. Cut Costs

With construction costs disproportionately higher than many other major cities, experts (and many riders) say the MTA should find ways to save money. The Second Avenue Subway, for example, is expected to cost $4.5 billion for about two miles of new service. An underground line under construction in Los Angeles will go four times as far at about the same cost. Explanations vary: Is it New York's union labor work rules or the hard schist under the island of Manhattan? Or a combination of factors? 

We want to see what your commute looks like. Post your pictures and videos on Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #RunningLate and tag @WNYC. We'll display them on our Picture Your Commute page and may use them in a video.