Reinvention Commission Calls for 'New MTA'

Gov. Cuomo charged the MTA Transportation Reinvention Commission — co-chaired by former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, and former head of the Federal Aviation Administration Jane Garvey — with creating a vision for the system's next century.

Now commissioners, including two dozen transit experts and advocates, have reported back.

They say the biggest challenges facing the MTA's subways, buses, and commuter rail lines come from climate change, population growth/increased ridership, and the need to maintain and expand the network's $1 trillion in assets.

Broadly, the commission calls for a 'new MTA' that is more efficient, transparent, and customer friendly.

Specifically, it recommends new trans-Hudson rail capacity, increased ferry service, signal upgrades to subways, expanded bus-rapid transit and better access to and from airports.

The panel doesn't say how to pay for all of this. But it says the MTA should consider public-private partnerships, including those where landowners that benefit from the transit system contribute to its costs. It also recommends looking at generating additional revenue from advertising, parking fees and congestion pricing.

The commission's vision for the next century comes as the MTA is struggling to figure out a way to fund its plans for the next five years. A new capital plan, released earlier this fall, outlined $32 billion in improvements, but only half the money to pay for it.

The governor has called the plan bloated and a state panel kicked it back for revisions. Legislators will determine funding as part of the budget process this spring.