Uncovering the MTA's $48 billion debt problem

Plus: A new voice on subway intercoms. [FORWARD TO A FRIEND]( [VIEW IN BROWSER]( [DONATE]( [WNYC Politics Brief] [A look at covering the MTA’s $48 billion mountain of debt]( [an MTA conductor sticks their head out the window of a train]( When you cover mass transit in New York City, you get used to writing about the aspects of the MTA that are most visible to riders: Fares, service changes, and the bureaucracy. You cover human interest stories where the city’s culture and transportation networks intersect, like the MTA’s inevitable plan to phase out [so-called “conversational seating” on the subways]( or [ad campaigns]( on trains and buses. Much of the coverage centers on what the MTA builds — or, in many cases, fails to build. But there’s a huge aspect of transit in New York that often goes overlooked in daily coverage: The MTA’s ever-growing pile of debt. Debt payments are expected to cost the MTA $3 billion this year. The agency spends more to pay off its debt each year than anything else aside from wages and benefits for the 70,000 workers who run its subways, buses, commuter railroads, bridges and tunnels. It’s a complicated subject — but it’s worth looking at because every dollar the MTA pays the banks for its debt is a dollar that can’t be used to get New Yorkers where they need to go. And history shows when finances are tight, the MTA regularly threatens to cut service and jobs — but not its debt payments. So WNYC and Gothamist decided to dive into what exactly that money pays for, and how the debt grew so large. Like much of the MTA, the information on the history of its debt is not easily accessible. We dug up decades of records at the city’s municipal archives on Chambers Street. Our in-house archivist Andy Lanset digitized 40-year-old cassette tapes with recordings of everyday New Yorkers raising concerns when the MTA first started taking on debt in the 1980s. We asked the architect of the whole debt scheme how it was formed. And we talked with people who’ve been watching the MTA for decades to get their thoughts about how a plan to save the subways from complete failure now eats up so much of the budget. We hope our reporting can help demystify the MTA’s byzantine finances so New Yorkers can be better informed about the government agencies designed to keep the city moving. - [Stephen Nessen, Transportation Reporter]( [Read the story.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 🚆 --------------------------------------------------------------- More transit stories to know this week Indiana Jones takes over NYC subway intercoms If you've heard a man's voice loudly proclaim "in 10 days, a legend will face his destiny" at stations on your commute: you are not imagining it. ([Gothamist]( A Queens street becomes storm-reistant An area of Rockaway that was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy just got a new storm-resistant street with “porous pavement,” a move the city says will reduce flooding. ([Gothamist]( NYPD credits surge of police presence in subway stations for swift arrests of 2 subway attackers Police arrested two men in connection to a string of weekend stabbings on the 4 train and authorities are crediting a surge in police presence for how fast it happened. ([Gothamist]( Ticket cameras installed on more MTA buses Cameras were installed on the BX36 bus last week to fine drivers parked in bus lanes and at stops as part of an MTA plan to get ticketing cameras on more than 1,000 buses by the end of the year. ([NY1]( Operating a subway train will still be a two-person job An idea to shift train operations from a two-person to a one-person job as a cost-saving measure was struck down in the Transit Workers Union's tentative contract agreement with the MTA. ([Crain's New York]( Founder of NYC Transit Museum dies Donald Harold was an MTA spokesperson and passionate about railways. He died at age 91 last week. ([amNY]( Taxi and rideshare drivers want answers to congestion pricing questions With congestion pricing on the horizon, taxi and rideshare drivers are questioning their financial fate. The MTA is still unsure about how for-hire vehicles will be charged congestion pricing, but a once-per-day charge or billing Uber and Lyft are some of the options on the table. ([Streetsblog]( NYC calls on residents to offer input for an improved Cross Bronx Expressway Federal infrastructure funds have been secured and now the city is inviting the public to share their vision for the future of the Cross Bronx Expressway. ([PIX11]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 🚆 --------------------------------------------------------------- Support WNYC + Gothamist Make a donation to support local, independent journalism. Your contributions are our largest source of funding and pays for essential election coverage and more. [DONATE]( [Facebook]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [Instagram]( [WNYC]( [WQXR]( [NJPR]( [GOTHAMIST]( [WNYC STUDIOS]( [THE GREENE SPACE]( Copyright © New York Public Radio. 160 Varick Street, New York, NY 10013 All rights reserved. [Terms of Use.]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your [preferences]( or [unsubscribe]( from this list