Good morning. My name is Tiffany-Ann Taylor and I’m the Vice President for Transportation at the Regional Plan Association, a 101 year old civic organization working toward a more resilient New York City metropolitan region.
For decades, we have strongly supported responsible, dedicated funding for public transportation. Across the country, public transportation systems are suffering from the impact of low ridership due to the pandemic. The MTA is no different.
The MTA needs dedicated, predictable funds. RPA is pleased that both the Governor and State Legislature have proposed solutions to plugging the operating budget deficit in this year’s budget, and we support elements of both proposals. With the greatest sense of urgency, we call on state leaders to ensure funding is in the final budget proposal. Otherwise, transit riders could face drastic service cuts and increases in fares.
RPA supports the proposal to increase the Payroll Mobility Tax – we believe it is a fair way to pay for transit operations, and appreciate that the funding is dedicated to the MTA.
The current PMT applies to businesses in NYC and seven surrounding counties, all of which benefit from services provided by the MTA. In total, fewer than 6% of the region’s businesses are subject to this tax, and even fewer are affected by the Governor’s proposal. The bulk of businesses that would pay are in New York City, which benefits the most from public transit.
To be clear, over 94% of businesses are not touched by the PMT and only 4.6% of the region’s businesses are affected by the proposal,
The MTA’s system provides critical mobility for the region and also gives us access to cultural, educational, medical, housing, and other opportunities. Which helps to attract a superior and diverse labor force to the region.
Continued underfunding of the system is not an option. Local travel patterns have changed, and more employers have embraced the benefits of hybrid work, yet levels of congestion still persist. In order for there to be continued regional mobility of people and goods, we need to think creatively about solving funding gaps today instead of pushing the problem down the line and hoping for a different outcome tomorrow. Thank you.
