The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) needs significant capital investment to ensure the transit system does not fall into a state of disrepair, leading to service disruption that would hamper New Yorkers' quality of life and the region's economy. CBC's new report, Prioritizing the MTA's Critical Capital Needs: What to Do When You Can’t Do It All, finds that even as the MTA increases the amount of capital projects it contracts each year, given the number of outstanding projects including those delayed during the pandemic, the MTA still will not be able to commit $28 billion of its $53 billion of currently planned projects by 2024. Furthermore, 20 percent of its critically important planned capital financing is unaffordable or at risk.

Fortunately, there is positive movement on congestion pricing, a crucial source of capital funding. The MTA recently released the Environmental Assessment (EA), scheduled public input sessions, and named members of the Traffic Mobility Review Board (TMRB).

Thus far, the MTA has not laid out a detailed, prospective multiyear plan that would allow the public to know which remaining projects are prioritized through 2024, when they are expected to be completed, the impact on the system’s state of good repair, and the likelihood that the system’s service would be able to be maintained and not deteriorate due to disrepair.

CBC recommends the MTA prioritize projects to complete through 2024; publish a schedule of priority projects still outstanding from the current and prior plans; develop a comprehensive 2025-2029 plan; and work diligently to increase capacity and reduce capital costs.

CBC's report finds that:

• Nearly $53 billion of the 2010-2024 capital plans remains uncommitted;
• The MTA has committed an average of $7.1 billion annually over the past 6 years;
• Through contracting improvements, the MTA has a target for $8.2 billion in commitments this year;
• If the MTA maintains annual commitments at the $8.2 billion target, $30.2 billion in capital projects would remain uncommitted at the end of this plan period;
  • At this rate, these projects would not be committed until 2028, well into the 2025-2029 capital plan period;
  • Increasing capacity to $10.0 billion annually would leave $27.6 billion of projects outstanding;
• At least $12 billion—20 percent—in capital funding supporting the plans is at risk or unaffordable; and
• Implementation of congestion pricing is essential to support the capital plan.

CBC recommends that the MTA:

• Publish a plan that prioritizes the roughly $23 billion to $25 billion that could reasonably be committed by 2024;
  • Prioritize projects that maximize improvements in state of good repair, normal replacement, system improvement, and reducing capital and operating costs, rather than network expansion;
• Publish a planned schedule for the remaining priority projects from the 2010-2024 capital plans;
• Develop an ambitious and solidly financed 2025-2029 plan that incorporates projects from prior plans and current needs, based on the 2023 20-year needs assessment;
  • Consider post-pandemic changes in commuting and travel patterns and evolving technology and
• Reform operations to reduce recurring costs and eliminate the structural deficit and create capacity to issue debt to support capital projects by maintaining a balanced budget;
• Continue to work with the federal and State government to implement congestion pricing in 2023 in order to secure critical revenues, environmental and congestion benefits, and increased ridership;
• Continue procurement reform to align practices and unit costs with international and national norms; and
• Improve capital execution, including FASTRACK and partial- or full-line shutdowns, to increase capacity and accelerate projects.