Capital Committee Testimony
Monday, March 23rd, 2026
Good afternoon, I’m Brian Fritsch, Associate Director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, PCAC.
We were thrilled to hear about the RFP for 2,390 subway cars, the MTA’s largest ever order and a key part of the 2025-29 capital plan. The R62 and R62As have served the MTA and riders well, but we’re very excited about the enhanced security and accessibility features, the push for lighter rolling stock to make the trains more energy-efficient, and more trains with an open gangway design to add capacity and make subway surfing nearly impossible. Replacing over 36% of the fleet is a huge endeavor, and we look forward to hearing more about the final design choices.
The MTA is building, while Washington tries to halt infrastructure investment and kill jobs. Their refusal to honor the Full Funding Grant Agreement for the Second Avenue Subway is a farce, and we applaud Governor Hochul and the MTA for taking the Feds to court. You’d think, at this point, after congestion pricing, counterterrorism funding, and the Gateway Program, Secretary Duffy would be tired of losing funding fights and lawsuits with New York, but here we are again. As we told Jose Martinez of the City, “this crap is getting old.” We hope for a quick and clear resolution.
Finally, we’re looking forward to the updates on the OMNY transition today. We’ve heard from our members and riders who feel the system has made immense reliability improvements over the last half year. We’re also pleased to hear that more customer-facing enhancements are on the way, including integration with the MTA app and critical info on reader screens that riders have asked for. We also are pushing the NYCDOE to work harder to help get digital OMNY cards off the ground. Students deserve an OMNY card that they can rely on.
Thank you.