For months, bus and subway services faced the prospect of draconian cuts as the pandemic plunged the system into a financial crisis. But on Thursday, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced a bit of good news: Major reductions would be avoided through 2022.

Still, without more federal aid the agency faces an $8 billion deficit over the next four years and the possibility of future cuts in service.

“The bottom line is we are not out of the woods,” said Andrew Rein, the president of the Citizens Budget Commission, a financial watchdog. “But we can see the light through the trees.”