Earlier today, Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Chairman and CEO Patrick J. Foye participated in a Crain’s New York Business panel discussion on the future of New York City transportation and infrastructure. The Chairman discussed the $3.9 billion in federal funding recently secured in the CARES Act and the agency’s ongoing push for robust additional federal assistance.

“The most important issue before the MTA right now is federal funding. Our ridership is down 90% plus, subways, LIRR, MNR, and bridge and tunnels is down about 50% the latest number. That’s had a dramatic impact on our revenues. Roughly half of our revenues comes from fares and tolls, the remaining 50% from dedicated revenue sources. Fortunately in the first round of CARES funding, we got approximately $3.9 billion, I want to thank President Trump for signing that bill into law and for expediting it, and I want to thank Senator Schumer and Chair Lowey with respect to their help with the first round. I also want to thank our partners in organized labor, including John Samuelsen, who is one of the panelists today, and his colleagues throughout the entire region and country. We’re gratified for that funding, we received the first installment today. 

“We’re also focused on the fact that Speaker Pelosi released a House bill on Tuesday, the House bill, we’re still going through it, but appears to be a very favorable bill for the MTA, for transit in general, but for the MTA in particular. I want to thank the Speaker, I want to thank Chair Lowey, Congressman Jeffries, Congressman Espaillat and the entire New York Congressional Delegation, which both on CARES one, and the second round, the Speaker Pelosi bill is appropriately called HEROES. I want to thank them for their bipartisan work on CARES and now HEROES. For instance, Peter King was a great supporter on CARES one, as was Lee Zeldin and other members. So we’re extraordinarily gratified.”