Good morning, I’m Brian Fritsch, Associate Director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, PCAC.
There’s a lot of positive news for me to highlight this month, which is as welcome as this coming of spring after what has been a long winter:
- Record on-time performance, including a perfect day for Metro-North and the LIRR’s best ever February
- Increasing ridership numbers, edging ever-so-close to pre-pandemic levels
- Justin Vonaseck’s first committee meeting as Metro-North’s President, Congratulations! PCAC looks forward to working with you in your new role
- And well-deserved retirement for Vinny Tessitore. Thank you so much for your many years of service to your members and the MTA as a whole
- National Transit Employee Appreciation Day, earlier this month. PCAC sincerely appreciates all the hard-working Metro-North and LIRR workers who make our rail roads the gold standard of passenger rail service in this country
- And a Big East title for St. John’s, which for us transit nerds was almost as good as the priceless video of Janno cutting a rug with Johnny Thunderbird it produced
Yet all this good news is fundamentally at risk over the long-term if we do not have a well funded capital program, which faces two clear and present threats.
The first is Congestion Pricing. Some people who live in Washington, New Jersey, and other places outside of New York can’t seem to understand why it’s working for us here, and so well at that. Secretary Duffy’s threats to cut MTA funding over the program are absurd, and we were proud to stand with Governor Hochul last Friday to send him the strong message that the cameras are staying on.
The second is our 2025-29 Capital Plan, which still faces a $35 billion funding gap in Albany. To fill that hole, PCAC has floated two dozen options that would raise a collective three-quarters of a trillion dollars when bonded in a report called “Take Your Pick Albany.”
Both of these programs are essential for keeping our railroads in good operating condition. New engines and cars, bridges and tracks, station upgrades and accessibility projects, resiliency work and the overhaul of Grand Central Train Shed are desperately needed now to keep the Red Storm of system neglect at bay. We want to keep MTA riders dancing through this season and beyond and encourage all our elected officials to do their part. Thank you.