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12/22/2022
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (MTA) board yesterday approved the organization's 2023 budget and four-year financial plan.
The $19.2 billion operating budget for next year anticipates a 5.5% fare hike, spending cuts and reduced service on some subway lines. It assumes the restoration of recurring biannual fare and toll increases, with 5.5% assumed in 2023. The budget also assumes $600 million in additional dedicated funding in 2023 and projects a need of $1.2 billion per year in recurring new revenue beginning in 2024. Proposed in November following recommendations submitted in July, the 2023 financial plan outlines actions aimed at shrinking the MTA's structural deficit from $2.6 billion to $600 million next year, and from almost $3 billion in 2024 and 2025 to $1.2 billion. Starting in 2023, the authority will implement operating efficiencies yielding $100 million in savings next year, then rising to $416 million by 2026.
The plan also includes a roadmap to reach longer-term fiscal stability, safeguards essential services, enhances transit equity and provides a sustainable foundation for the region's continued economic growth, MTA officials said in a press release.
"The plan balances the budget, while also preserving flexibility. By working with all stakeholders, we must find creative ways to stabilize the MTA’s finances, while supporting the region’s recovery," said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber.
Post-pandemic ridership trends have created a fiscal cliff that's reached higher and appeared earlier than previously expected, said MTA Chief Financial Officer Kevin Willens.
"The much-needed federal aid the MTA received from three COVID-relief packages has enabled a reduction in deficits in the immediate future," he said. "However, beginning in 2023, we need new dedicated revenue streams to ensure that essential transit service remains at the levels riders expect."