New York to pump $51.5bn into transit

New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has proposed investing $51.5 billion in the city’s subways, buses and railroads over the next five years. Janno Lieber, MTA chief development officer, says: “The proposed capital programme will be truly transformational – more trains, more buses, more service, more accessibility and more reliability.” The 2020-2024 Capital Plan would put $40bn into the city’s subways and buses and $6.1bn for 1,900 new subway cars to help mitigate delays. MTA also wa
September 25, 2019 Read time: 3 mins

New York’s 1267 Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has proposed investing $51.5 billion in the city’s subways, buses and railroads over the next five years.

Janno Lieber, MTA chief development officer, says: “The proposed capital programme will be truly transformational – more trains, more buses, more service, more accessibility and more reliability.”

The 2020-2024 Capital Plan would put $40bn into the city’s subways and buses and $6.1bn for 1,900 new subway cars to help mitigate delays.

MTA also wants to spend $5.2bn on making stations better equipped for disabled riders so that they are no more than two stops away from an accessible station.

Additionally, the authority would utilise $2.5bn to replace more than 2,200 of the oldest buses and expanding the fleet size by more than 175 vehicles. It proposes investing $1.1bn to purchase 500 electric buses, including replacements and additions. The programme is expected to enable MTA to acquire only e-buses from 2029.

MTA says its proposal would provide the investments necessary for the development of the Long Island Rail Road by the planned December 2022 opening of the East Side Access project and the Main Line Expansion. East Side Access is expected to allow more than 160,000 commuters to travel to Grand Central Terminal, saving up to 40 minutes per day while the Main Line Expansion will add a third track on 10 miles of the Main Line corridor.

As part of the capital plan, MTA is hoping to secure $135m for the continuing reconstruction of the Henry Hudson Bridge and the implementation of open road tolling which it claims could reduce potential collisions by up to 41%.

Affiliate agency MTA Bridges and Tunnels is proposing a separate investment of $3.3bn to construct infrastructure for tolling in the central business district.

MTA Bridges and Tunnels president Daniel DeCrescenzo says the plan will help modernise links in the regional transportation network.

“The plan is integrated with other regional transportation programs to build upon the transformative changes and benefits of cashless tolling, and the continuous bus/HOV lane connecting Staten Island to the Gowanus/Brooklyn-Queens Expressway bus/HOV lane implemented in the 2015-2019 capital plan,” he adds.

The MTA board will review the proposed plan today (25 September). If approved, it will be submitted to the MTA capital review board for consideration and approval.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Study shows significant savings from combining bus and HOT lanes
    August 2, 2013
    David Crawford looks at some radical thinking that could see self-financing mass transit in Florida. Toll and transit agencies in the Tampa metro area on the west coast of the US State of Florida, have joined forces to put forward a pioneering combined bus and toll lane (BTL) scheme. The Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority is working in partnership with regional bus operator Hillsborough Area Regional Transit on the plans of which should be finalised this autumn. The Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Author
    Read More
  • Phoenix rises to the Smart City challenge
    December 10, 2015
    Andrew Bardin Williams looks at the City of Phoenix where voters backed a $30bn plan to revamp its transportation network to cultivate a more connected community. According to a Land Use Institute study, half of all Americans and even more millennials (63%) would like to live in a place where they do not need to use a car very often. The City of Phoenix is putting in place plans to revamp its urban development and transportation policies to meet these changing quality of life perceptions.
    Read More
  • Keeping people on track is RATP’s raison d’etre
    June 14, 2018
    In Paris, RATP Group’s autonomous Metro Line 1 is carrying 750,000 people a day across the city. Ben Spencer is invited into the control room to take a look at how the system works Paris is visited by millions of tourists each year, keen to see for themselves stunning attractions such as the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Notre-Dame, the Louvre, the Seine and all the rest. But while the best-known sites of the City of Light tend to be on the surface, there is a lot going on below those iconic grand boule
    Read More
  • Masabi mobile ticketing to roll out on New York MTA
    May 19, 2016
    Following successful field testing, the first phase of the Masabi MTA eTix apps developed for New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), is expected to launch on select lines of the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and Metro-North (MNR) in June. The app, which allows customers to purchase train tickets via a mobile device, will first debut on the LIRR’s Port Washington Branch and Metro-North’s Hudson Line and will be available to all Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North customers by the end of
    Read More

Highlighted Content