Major service cuts and huge fare increase loom to close MTA budget gap

November 18, 4:52 PMNY Government ExaminerMichael A. Harris

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With the MTA's budget deficit now being projected at 1.2 billion, the Daily News reported today that a report to be released Thursday will include what some are calling "Doomsday" cuts. The big one for many commuters is the elimination of the W line.

Among the other cutbacks being talked about:

• Elimination of the Z line
• Cutting the G and M trains in half, giving them fewer stops
• No more express service on the J train
• Overnight trains that now run every 20 minutes will be stretched to half-hour intervals
• Getting rid of dozens of bus lines with low ridership on nights and weekends
• Over 1,500 pink slips for station agent and administrative jobs
• A larger than expected fare hike

Gene Russianoff, staff attorney for the Straphangers Campaign, a rider advocacy group said that the fare hike would likely be "whopping."

MTA spokesperson Jeremy Soffin just released the following statement:

"We will not comment on the specifics of gap closing measures until the budget is presented to the MTA Board on Thursday morning. As we have said previously, plummeting tax revenues have increased the MTA's deficit to $1.2 billion. The MTA began belt tightening long before the current financial crisis, and budget cuts start with further significant administrative and managerial cuts. The size of the deficit will also require a combination of fare/toll increases and service cuts, which will be presented on Thursday. We await the release of the Ravitch Commission recommendations in December and hope they will be implemented to restore financial stability to the MTA."

The formal proposal will be presented at this Thursday's MTA Board meeting.