After the Supreme Court’s ruling on West Virginia v. EPA that limits the federal government’s ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the burden falls on our City and State governments to enact policies that protect our region from the climate crisis. Investing in a reliable, accessible, and equitable public transit system is now even more urgent so that more people can rely on trains or buses instead of automobiles. It’s encouraging that congestion pricing is on track to move forward with only small delays after yesterday’s announcement that the MTA has resubmitted its draft Environmental Impact Statement to the FHWA— this policy is critical to reducing emissions and strengthening transit around the region.
Protecting our transit system and riders from the impacts of extreme weather is increasingly important after this ruling, and we’re glad to see that the MTA is prioritizing resiliency particularly against storm water flooding. We urge the city and state to invest in a more reliable, sustainable, and resilient transit system, including finding long-term operating funding for the MTA.