Skip to main content

Move NY Legislation introduced

A coalition of New York State Assembly Members has unveiled legislation that they say will not only fund Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) capital needs but will create a US$4.5 billion Transit Gap Investment Fund (TGIF) to expand public transit and improve accessibility for millions of New Yorkers, particularly those who live in so-called ‘transit deserts’. Introduced by Assembly Member Robert J. Rodriguez, chair of the subcommittee on infrastructure, and joined by 14 co-sponsors from across t
March 29, 2016 Read time: 3 mins
A coalition of New York State Assembly Members has unveiled legislation that they say will not only fund 1267 Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) capital needs but will create a US$4.5 billion Transit Gap Investment Fund (TGIF) to expand public transit and improve accessibility for millions of New Yorkers, particularly those who live in so-called ‘transit deserts’.

Introduced by Assembly Member Robert J. Rodriguez, chair of the subcommittee on infrastructure, and joined by 14 co-sponsors from across the city, if enacted the bill will raise US$1.35 billion in new annual revenue and, when bonded, will generate over US$12 billion for upgrading New York’s transit system and road and bridge network. In addition to the TGIF, the legislation could cover the US$7.3 billion in MTA capital needs and create a US$375 million annual revenue stream for maintaining the City’s roads and bridges.

The TGIF is specifically designed to expand service in parts of the City where there is no subway service and inadequate bus service.

Inter-borough projects to be considered by the board for approval include the Triboro Line subway connecting Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx; capital improvements on the G train; LIRR subway conversion between Brooklyn and Queens; new ferries and express bus service; Staten Island North Shore bus rapid transit; and new cycle and pedestrian lanes on the Verrazano and Brooklyn Bridges.

The legislation will earmark US$1 billion for local projects to be allocated equitably among Community Districts in all five boroughs. Each district will have US$15-$21 million to work with to make their transit hubs more accessible based on priority needs (e.g., repaired stairways, station elevators, bus shelters, Vision Zero street-scaping). In addition, a US$700 million Suburban County Transit Fund is established under the legislation, which county officials can use to subsidise county bus service and improve access to commuter rail by increasing parking capacity at select stations, adding shuttle service, and adopting other strategies for facilitating the use of LIRR and Metro North service.

The legislation is modelled after the Move NY Fair Plan, developed by transportation engineer ‘Gridlock’ Sam Schwartz and the Move NY coalition, which proposed lowering tolls on all MTA bridges – that connect areas where there tends to be less traffic and fewer transit options ¬– and restoring or adding tolls to crossings in areas where there’s more traffic and better transit options.

The legislation also locks in the ratio of newly lowered outer bridge tolls to the central business district tolls such that if the ratios were to be ignored in future toll setting, the new tolls on the central business district bridges and along 60th Street would automatically be revoked, thus guaranteeing that the ratio will not be violated. With the installation of gateless tolls and the reduction of traffic, vehicle travel speeds are estimated to improve by up to 20 per cent south of Central Park and up to eight per cent in areas outside the central business district – in Brooklyn, Queens and Northern Manhattan.

Related Content

  • January 26, 2016
    London invests in bus priority schemes to help keep bus passengers moving
    With London’s roads seeing an increase in congestion due to a construction boom and a significant growth in population, Transport for London is investing heavily in helping keep the roads moving through a range of means. Part of this programme is designed to help buses get through congested areas quicker and more reliably. A US$284 million investment in new bus priority schemes in the capital includes changes to road layouts and junctions and enabling small changes to routes so that buses can avoid traff
  • August 7, 2019
    Veovo to ease subway crowding in New York
    Veovo is working with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to help ease crowded subways in New York as part of a one-year pilot. It follows an agreement made last year between the MTA and Partnership for New York City to launch the Transit Tech Lab to vet technologies designed to modernise the city’s public transit system. Natalia Quintero, director of the Transit Tech Lab, says: “With Veovo's sensors and analytics, the MTA has more reliable data to inform service changes and improve safe
  • May 3, 2012
    Cost saving multi-agency transportation and emergency management
    Although the recession had dramatically reduced traffic volumes in the past few years, the economy was on the brink of a recovery that portended well for jobs but poorly for traffic congestion. Leaders of four government agencies in Houston, Texas, got together to discuss how to collectively cope with the expected increase in vehicles on the road. "They knew they couldn't pour enough concrete to solve the problem, and they also knew the old model of working in a vacuum as standalone entities would fail," sa
  • August 27, 2019
    Optimus Ride launches AV service at Brooklyn Navy Yard
    Optimus Ride is operating an autonomous vehicle (AV) service at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York and expects to transport more than 16,000 passengers per month. The 300-acre industrial park has more than 400 manufacturing businesses and 10,000 employees on site. Dr. Ryan Chin, Optimus co-founder, says the system will “provide access to and experience with autonomy for thousands of people, helping to increase acceptance and confidence of this new technology”. Optimus is operating six AVs between the NY