MTA board votes to approve $68B 5-year upgrade plan for subways, buses
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- The MTA board voted unanimously Wednesday morning to approve a five-year plan to upgrade subways and buses.
The $68 billion project includes the purchase of new subway cars, fixing aging tunnels, and accessibility upgrades at subway stations.
"The reason we have a capital program that I believe this board virtually unanimously supports...we are working to make mass transit more attractive to everybody who could use the system, everybody says it's a cliche, it's the lifeblood of New York," said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber.
However, the agency only has about half the funding it needs. Its finances are in limbo due to the indefinite pause on the congestion pricing plan.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul says despite the funding gap, she would fight to secure as much money as possible for the plan.
Riders Alliance Executive Director Betsy Plum released a statement in response saying:
"Governor Hochul hurt riders when she stopped $16.5 billion worth of transit upgrades earlier this year. She needs to deliver those accessibility and reliability improvements as well as the faster buses and ambulances and cleaner air she promised New Yorkers. Governor Hochul must now find every last dollar to build the projects approved today, deliver the fast, frequent and reliable trains we've been promised, and prioritize investments in communities cheated over the decades out of the care and maintenance of basic public infrastructure that New Yorkers deserve from Far Rockaway to Fordham."
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