Good evening, Board. My name is Tiffany-Ann Taylor, Vice President of Transportation at Regional Plan Association or RPA.

RPA improves the New York metropolitan region’s economic health, environmental sustainability and quality of life through research, planning and advocacy. A central feature of this advocacy is supporting the mass transit system of the region.

It’s no secret to anyone in this room that the MTA system is the economic engine of the City and the region. It is absolutely indispensable and in order to achieve better ADA compliance, reduce Vehicle Miles Traveled–we need to invest in it to achieve both our climate goals and to keep our regional growth healthy and sustainable. While all the funds from the program will be used to raise a substantial portion of the $68.4 billion dollar MTA’s next capital plan, the remaining $50+ billion must be raised by the state budget. We call on Gov. Hochul and the state legislature to fully fund the next capital plan with a dedicated funding source to achieve the system reliability the region deserves.

We cannot go back to the ​“summer of hell” days of 2017. As more commuters turn to the MTA in lieu of driving and as our population continues to grow, we must establish a dedicated funding source to provide the critical upgrades the system requires. These include upgrades to the systems pre-war era signalization system to improve reliability, building out elevators in the nearly half of stations that currently do not have them, and the system extensions that will provide connectivity to transit deserts, including the long-promised Second Ave Subway extension into East Harlem. Since today is Transit Equity Day, it’s especially appropriate to ensure these enhancements are fully funded by a dedicated funding source.

RPA calls on the Governor and legislature to fully fund the MTA capital plan. Our future depends on it.