Streetsblog New York City » Good Gov Groups, Transit Advocates Call on Cuomo to Stop MTA Raids

Streetsblog New York City » Good Gov Groups, Transit Advocates Call on Cuomo to Stop MTA Raids: "Albany’s repeated plundering of the MTA’s dedicated funds has robbed transit riders of more than $140 million in the past year alone. With a $9 billion budget gap looming, straphangers could end up paying again very soon. An impossible fix, you ask? I know the subject is Albany and we’ve all been conditioned to think that change is hopeless, but as it happens, all it takes is one person, the governor of New York, to say enough is enough.

For as long as he’s in office, Andrew Cuomo can put a stop to the practice of raiding dedicated transit funds, without waiting for the state legislature to take action. Not only would this policy change be good for transit riders, advocates say in a new report, it would be consistent with principles of good government."

[Montreal] Board of Trade sold on public transit

Board of Trade sold on public transit: "For years, cities and environmentalists have been calling for better bus, metro and commuter train service.

Yesterday, the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal joined the cause, publishing a study suggesting efficient transportation boosts productivity and wealth.

'The business community is resolutely behind public transit,' which is 'vital to Quebec's prosperity,' said Board of Trade chief executive Michel Leblanc.

Expenditures by public transit authorities help fill provincial and federal governments coffers, while productivity is boosted because transit users spend less time stuck in traffic, the study said. Employers benefit because they can choose from a wider selection of candidates and their workers can efficiently get to and from work."

Theodore W. Kheel, Mediator, Free Transit Advocate, Dies at 96 - NYTimes.com

Theodore W. Kheel, Mediator, Dies at 96 - NYTimes.com: "Theodore W. Kheel, who was New York City’s pre-eminent labor peacemaker from the 1950s through the 1980s, a mediator and arbitrator sought after by both City Hall and the White House to help avert or end strikes of crippling consequence, died on Friday. He was 96 and lived in Manhattan."

Freedom Party - Free Transit Advocates

NY Freedom Party advocates free public transit: The Freedom Party will not stand by & allow the Democratic Party or anyone else to take the Black &Latino vote for granted. For New York?s Black and Latino Community the real issue must be the acquisition of economic and political power, for the purposes of self-help and self-determination. Politics is about power- the power that decides who has income, education, affordable homes, health care, respect and justice. The Freedom Party says the struggle is about economics:

Institute free public transportation & CUNY (public Higher Ed.)

We have another candidate! Howie Hawkins free public transportation

Meet the Minor Party Candidates - WNYC: "Hawkins envisions taking extra tax revenue from the rich and using it to fund free tuition at public colleges and free public transportation. He would also fund a “Green New Deal,” which would invest in environmentally-friendly public infrastructure projects."

Free transit people, we have another candidate!

After Harlem Heckle, Barron Takes Freedom Party To Steps Of Brooklyn Borough Hall | The New York Observer: "Barron said that there was very little difference between the economic policies of Cuomo and G.O.P. candidate Carl Paladino, and said that his platform consisted of free public transportation, lowering the cost of college tuition, and paying for it all with an income tax on upper income earners."

Streetsblog New York City � Rider Anger Grazes Incumbent Pols at Fare Hike Hearing

On the eve of today's primary election, most of the anger over the impending fare hike was directed at the MTA, not state legislators. Photo: Noah Kazis
Streetsblog New York City � Rider Anger Grazes Incumbent Pols at Fare Hike Hearing: "Outside Cooper Union yesterday evening, the sidewalks were packed with news cameras, security squads, political campaigners and activists pressing passersby with their plans for the MTA. Inside, the transit authority held the first of ten mandated public hearings on its proposed fare and toll hikes. Though attendance was sparse, the citizens who lined up to speak in all but unanimous opposition to the fare hike spared no venom for whichever target they chose, the MTA or the state government.

Phineas Baxandall: In The Public Interest: More Jobs for the Same Money

Phineas Baxandall: In The Public Interest: More Jobs for the Same Money: "By looking at twenty governmental Metropolitan Planning Organizations and the projects listed in their Transportation Improvement Programs, the study found that shifting half of funds for highway projects to public transit would result in 36,000 additional annual jobs. For instance, in Atlanta such a shift to public transit would result in 23,000 additional full-time jobs during the life of their five-year transportation plan. In San Diego, the expected increase would total over 18,000 jobs."

Anna Sterne Outlines Transportation Initiatives for the 92nd District | GroundReport

Anna Sterne Outlines Transportation Initiatives for the 92nd District | GroundReport: "Free Teenage Public Transportation Cards:� �To encourage the use of public transportation and make it a ‘cool’ option, Sterne advocates issuing free public transportation cards to teenagers in the 92nd District – kids between the ages of 14 and 18.� Public transportation is safer than driving a car and it is more environmentally friendly.� Having kids on the buses would make public transportation more fun and the next generation would get into the habit of using public transportation.� Since buses and trains are rarely at capacity, this initiative would be cost free, except for the cost of issuing the passes."

Billions for oil wars - nothing for transit - get it?

NY lays off 194 subway workers

From New York comes a reminder that the revenue problems facing Washington's public transportation systems aren't unique. The New York area Metropolitan Transit Authority faces an $800 million deficit, and Friday 194 New York City subway workers lost their jobs.

A judge had prevented the Metropolitan Transportation Authority from closing more than 40 subway booths and firing the workers in June. She said the transit agency needed to hold a new round of public hearings first... WashingtonPost