WEBVTT - MTA CFO Jai Patel Talks Ridership Recovery, Fare Evasion

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.

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<v Speaker 2>The MTA runs New York City subways, buses, and commuter

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<v Speaker 2>trains that six million people rely on each weekday, and

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<v Speaker 2>on Monday, board members approved close to a two billion

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<v Speaker 2>dollar contract to expand the Second Avenue subway line into

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<v Speaker 2>East Harlem. Jpitzel is the CFO of the MTA. She's

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<v Speaker 2>charged with quite the task, which I think is fair

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<v Speaker 2>to say many would find unenviable, charting a sustainable path

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<v Speaker 2>through one of the agency's most financially trying periods in

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<v Speaker 2>its six decade history. She joins us here in the

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<v Speaker 2>Bloomberg Business Week studio. Jay, Welcome, how are you.

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<v Speaker 3>I'm good, how are you? Tim?

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<v Speaker 4>Thank you for having me.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, thanks so much for joining us. I want to

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<v Speaker 2>start with the numbers and just ridership here. Weekday subway

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<v Speaker 2>ridership is still twenty five percent below pre COVID levels

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<v Speaker 2>in your modeling, does that ever come back to where

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<v Speaker 2>it was?

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<v Speaker 3>I you know, we have a financial plan that's a

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<v Speaker 3>five year period, and originally we were projecting that we

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<v Speaker 3>would see our subway ridership up to ninety percent, but

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<v Speaker 3>a couple of years ago we revised that because we

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<v Speaker 3>weren't seeing that, but we're hopeful we see an eighty

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<v Speaker 3>percent by twenty twenty nine ridership.

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<v Speaker 4>Recovery for subways.

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<v Speaker 3>But on the railroads, we're seeing that recovery even higher.

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<v Speaker 3>Today we see eighty five percent ridership recovery on our railroads,

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<v Speaker 3>which is amazing, something that we thought was going to

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<v Speaker 3>be slower our railroad customers than our subway customers originally

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<v Speaker 3>coming out of pre pandemic.

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<v Speaker 2>So is there a way to tap into that growth financially,

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<v Speaker 2>perhaps with higher prices for those commuters rather than here

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<v Speaker 2>in the city for subway and bus riders.

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<v Speaker 3>So you know, what we have is very small, predictable

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<v Speaker 3>far increases that help balance the financial plan, and so

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<v Speaker 3>we don't want to burden one rider or over another.

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<v Speaker 3>It's really about distance space and commuters, and so we

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<v Speaker 3>keep that equitable.

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<v Speaker 4>You know that we do two.

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<v Speaker 3>Percent fare increase every other you know, every other year,

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<v Speaker 3>and that keeps our financial plan and balance.

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<v Speaker 5>How do you plan to get that number, I think

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<v Speaker 5>you said eighty percent ridership? How do you bring people

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<v Speaker 5>back into the subways?

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<v Speaker 3>We bring writers back by providing reliable on time performance. Right,

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<v Speaker 3>our service matters to customers and delivering the service that

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<v Speaker 3>we promise and schedule is something.

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<v Speaker 4>That we strive for. But also safety.

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<v Speaker 3>Our customers need to feel safe safe, and our customers

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<v Speaker 3>feel that right. We've had the lowest safety you know

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<v Speaker 3>numbers or crime numbers in July, and so our customers

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<v Speaker 3>are telling us.

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<v Speaker 4>That by taking the subway, but also.

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<v Speaker 3>Our customer surveys right tell us that customers are satisfied

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<v Speaker 3>with the service that we're providing.

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<v Speaker 2>The MTA phases it combined one point one billion dollar

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<v Speaker 2>deficit over three years starting in twenty twenty seven. It

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<v Speaker 2>already owes close to fifty billion dollars. It needs to

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<v Speaker 2>spend sixty eight billion dollars more for vital improvements. There's

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<v Speaker 2>some federal aid that's up in the air. The Trump

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<v Speaker 2>administration is trying to roll back congestion pricing. What's the

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<v Speaker 2>backup plan if the aid EVE operates and the President

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<v Speaker 2>is successful in rolling back congestion pricing.

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<v Speaker 3>You know, Tim, I would be remiss if I didn't

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<v Speaker 3>mention that. Back in twenty twenty three, we were the

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<v Speaker 3>first transit agency to solve our fiscal cliff thanks to

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<v Speaker 3>Governor Holcal, chairliber and the legislature, we were able to

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<v Speaker 3>come out of a deficit unlike any other transit agency today.

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<v Speaker 3>You've heard SEPTA's facing deep cuts Chicago, but we were

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<v Speaker 3>the first to say we need state, federal and local aid,

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<v Speaker 3>and we got our state federal funding for us. We

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<v Speaker 3>also as the MTA contributing to our solving our deficit. Right,

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<v Speaker 3>the MTA contributes five hundred million to operating efficiencies, and

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<v Speaker 3>those deficits that we have in twenty seven and twenty

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<v Speaker 3>eight and twenty nine are very small compared to our

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<v Speaker 3>operating budget, and we are committed to doing our part

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<v Speaker 3>in saving money to help ensure that we can balance

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<v Speaker 3>our budget in the out years.

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<v Speaker 5>We were talking a little bit about the base fares

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<v Speaker 5>of subways increasing regularly. I'm wondering if there is there

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<v Speaker 5>a set area within the MTA that that revenue goes toward.

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<v Speaker 5>Because the base fare for a subway in New York

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<v Speaker 5>City it's expected to increase to three dollars in January.

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<v Speaker 3>Correct, So our fares help our operating budget, right, So

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<v Speaker 3>they seventy percent of MTA's cost our labor and fringe,

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<v Speaker 3>and so that pays for seventy thousand employees and then

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<v Speaker 3>the small fraction is for the non labor contract, so

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<v Speaker 3>every fair contributes to operating cost.

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<v Speaker 2>On our side, let's talk about fares and fair evasion.

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<v Speaker 2>Usually when we talk fair evasion, I think of people

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<v Speaker 2>jumping over subway turnstyles, and I know there have been

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<v Speaker 2>some mitigation efforts in place. But I took the bus

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<v Speaker 2>to LaGuardia on Thursday. It was a great experience. But

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<v Speaker 2>when I got on the sp Bs and Queens, I

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<v Speaker 2>got on it was like an articulated bus, so you know,

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<v Speaker 2>it was a long one. I got off and on

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<v Speaker 2>in the back and out of like more than half

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<v Speaker 2>a dozen people, I think I was the only one

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<v Speaker 2>who paid, And I was thinking to myself, I didn't

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<v Speaker 2>know it was optional to pay to get on the bus.

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<v Speaker 1>What are the numbers there?

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<v Speaker 3>So it's not optional right to pay the fair. We

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<v Speaker 3>are encouraging every customer to pay our pay their fair share.

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<v Speaker 2>To but there's no enforcement on the bus.

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<v Speaker 3>So there's a couple of things that we're doing for

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<v Speaker 3>fair evasion. And our chair has been tackling this first

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<v Speaker 3>when he became chair. So on the subways you've heard

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<v Speaker 3>of us talking about we're doing fins, sleeves, gate guards

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<v Speaker 3>enforcing the exit gate, which is the fair you know,

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<v Speaker 3>evasion highway. And so we've made great strides on the subways.

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<v Speaker 3>We've reduced fair evasion in over a year by thirty percent.

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<v Speaker 3>We've dropped that rate from a high of fourteen percent

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<v Speaker 3>to nine point eight percent, So we know those efforts

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<v Speaker 3>are working. On the buses, it's a little bit more difficult,

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<v Speaker 3>but we're also working there.

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<v Speaker 4>We've decreased fair.

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<v Speaker 3>Invasion on our buses as well in the last year

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<v Speaker 3>from fifty percent to forty four percent because all the

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<v Speaker 3>tactics the President of New York City Transit is employing.

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<v Speaker 4>We have eagle teams that are looking, you know.

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<v Speaker 3>On different bus routes to make sure that they are

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<v Speaker 3>enforcing the pay your fare right.

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<v Speaker 4>Our bus operators.

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<v Speaker 3>Do their due diligence, but really our eagle teams are

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<v Speaker 3>enforcement out there riding different routes and making sure customers

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<v Speaker 3>fair pay their fare or they're getting a summons or

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<v Speaker 3>they're getting off the bus. And that's how we're working.

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<v Speaker 4>How does that work?

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<v Speaker 5>Because I heard of a friend who was on a

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<v Speaker 5>bus and someone had come around and like scanned their

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<v Speaker 5>phone to see if they had paid the fare. Is

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<v Speaker 5>that how it works explained to us.

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<v Speaker 3>So right now what we are doing is if you're

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<v Speaker 3>boarding the bus, you have to pay, because there's two

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<v Speaker 3>different ways you can pay right today is the Metro

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<v Speaker 3>card and the OMNI, and when we go to full

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<v Speaker 3>OMNI next year, there's going to be proof of payment.

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<v Speaker 3>And so what you can do is European style proof

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<v Speaker 3>of payment for customers is you can tap their phones

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<v Speaker 3>or credit cards the method of payment to see if

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<v Speaker 3>they pay their fare and if they didn't pay their fare.

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<v Speaker 3>That's something that we will work with on a summons

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<v Speaker 3>or you know, you need to pay your fare for

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<v Speaker 3>our customer, and so that's something that's coming. We're really

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<v Speaker 3>excited about that for OMNI and proof of payment, but

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<v Speaker 3>right now there's two different methods and so we're working

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<v Speaker 3>on different ways to combat fair evasion.

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<v Speaker 2>I want to talk a little bit about proposals from

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<v Speaker 2>mayoral candidates or in Mumdani. For example, it's proposal to

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<v Speaker 2>make all New York City buses free. What do you

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<v Speaker 2>think of that and does it create a sort of

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<v Speaker 2>a two tiered mass transit system where people who ride

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<v Speaker 2>buses don't pay for it, but then people who ride

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<v Speaker 2>the subway do and then kind of offset like people

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<v Speaker 2>not necessarily taking the right mode of transit for their destination.

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<v Speaker 3>So we've heard the maurial candidates proposal for a fair

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<v Speaker 3>free buses. What I'd like to emphasize again is fairbox

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<v Speaker 3>revenue is important to the operations of the MTA. It's

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<v Speaker 3>twenty six percent of our revenue, and buses is about

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<v Speaker 3>a billion dollars in the out years of revenue for

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<v Speaker 3>the MTA bus for the MTA, excuse me, and that's

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<v Speaker 3>important to us, and so we want to make sure

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<v Speaker 3>revenues equal service. And that is something that's hypothetical right now,

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<v Speaker 3>but we rely on fairbox revenue.

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<v Speaker 2>So you said a billion dollars in revenue is what

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<v Speaker 2>it brings in. Mom Donnie estimates that's about seven hundred

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<v Speaker 2>and fifty million dollars annually to make buses free. Is

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<v Speaker 2>that an accurate assessment on his part.

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<v Speaker 3>I think there's pieces that he's he's looking at just

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<v Speaker 3>the New York City Transit bus fair We have MTA

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<v Speaker 3>bus that we also run that the city contributes to,

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<v Speaker 3>and that is also fairbox revenue for buses.

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<v Speaker 2>So what would take away that revenue from the MTA

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<v Speaker 2>due to the authorities finances or would it just be

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, look again, it's a proposal, you said, it's

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<v Speaker 2>something that you know is not a plan yet. But

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<v Speaker 2>to be fair, he is by far the favored candidate,

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<v Speaker 2>and there are a lot of questions about what power

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<v Speaker 2>he has to actually follow through with a campaign promise

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<v Speaker 2>such as this. But this is certainly a central part

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<v Speaker 2>of his campaign, so you got to be looking at

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<v Speaker 2>it closely.

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<v Speaker 3>We are looking at it. But one thing that I

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<v Speaker 3>would like to emphasize right right now in New York City,

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<v Speaker 3>fares are affordable. We make transit and buses the most

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<v Speaker 3>affordable at two dollars and ninety cents, and it's affordable

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<v Speaker 3>with fairfares, reduce fair for our customers. But you know,

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<v Speaker 3>it is something that we will look into as the

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<v Speaker 3>mayoral candidate has proposed.

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<v Speaker 5>What about mitigating climate issues that affect particularly the subway stations.

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<v Speaker 5>You go online, you see videos of flooding in station,

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<v Speaker 5>trying to.

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<v Speaker 1>Get home and on a rainy day.

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<v Speaker 5>Right and water in the subway station. Do you guys have,

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<v Speaker 5>at least as part of the upcoming capital plan, a

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<v Speaker 5>plan in place to update the infrastructure.

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<v Speaker 3>A couple of points on that right, A couple of

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<v Speaker 3>the issues that arise in the subway systems are not

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<v Speaker 3>the MTA's fault. New York City right contributes to the

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<v Speaker 3>flooding issues that we face in the subways, whether it's

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<v Speaker 3>through dep manholes, the sewage. So that is one aspect

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<v Speaker 3>of the flooding that you see on the New York

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<v Speaker 3>City Transit. But our historic capital plan that sixty eight

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<v Speaker 3>point four billion dollars does have climate resiliency of hardening

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<v Speaker 3>the system in certain stations in proposed And therefore.

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<v Speaker 2>Let's talk a little bit about congestion pricing. Not as

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<v Speaker 2>hot of a topic as it was a few months ago,

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<v Speaker 2>it seems like it's died down a little bit in

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<v Speaker 2>your view.

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<v Speaker 1>Is it working?

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<v Speaker 3>Congestion pricing is working. It is reducing traffic by eleven percent.

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<v Speaker 4>What does that mean?

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<v Speaker 3>Seventy thousand cars are off the road every single day.

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<v Speaker 4>What else is it doing.

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<v Speaker 3>It's moving our buses faster, it's moving people faster. We've

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<v Speaker 3>seen a change in ridership, but also we've seen safety increases.

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<v Speaker 4>There's a fourteen.

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<v Speaker 3>Percent decline in pedestrian crashes. And on top of it all,

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<v Speaker 3>it is bringing in the revenue that we had projected originally.

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<v Speaker 2>It's being watched very closely, not just by proponents and

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<v Speaker 2>opponents of it, but also by other cities that might

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<v Speaker 2>want to put this into practice. Have you or has

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<v Speaker 2>the MTA heard from other cities about congestion pricing, about

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<v Speaker 2>the model and about questions about implementing it in their

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<v Speaker 2>own cities.

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<v Speaker 3>The MTA has heard from other cities and transit properties

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<v Speaker 3>and engaged with them to have conversations about the process

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<v Speaker 3>that New York implemented for the successful congestion pricing program

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<v Speaker 3>that we're having, So they're looking at it at us

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<v Speaker 3>as a model.

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<v Speaker 5>We have to ask about the second Second Avenue subway

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<v Speaker 5>expansion as well. Just walk us through some of the

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<v Speaker 5>plans and the timeline here, because this has been something

0:11:47.200 --> 0:11:49.880
<v Speaker 5>that's been in the work, something that any New Yorker

0:11:49.920 --> 0:11:51.080
<v Speaker 5>who's lived in New York for.

0:11:51.000 --> 0:11:54.240
<v Speaker 1>The last ford how many years, forty decades.

0:11:53.880 --> 0:11:57.400
<v Speaker 3>Fifty yards fifty I think we've talked about that at

0:11:57.480 --> 0:11:59.120
<v Speaker 3>our special board meeting on Monday.

0:11:59.480 --> 0:12:02.880
<v Speaker 4>You know, the contract that our board just approved.

0:12:02.520 --> 0:12:06.839
<v Speaker 3>Is almost one point nine billion dollar contract to start boring, right,

0:12:06.920 --> 0:12:09.600
<v Speaker 3>what does that mean? It's starting the tunneling for the

0:12:09.679 --> 0:12:13.400
<v Speaker 3>three stations that are vital to Second Avenue Subway Phase two.

0:12:14.040 --> 0:12:19.880
<v Speaker 3>And we are committed to expanding Second Avenue Phase two

0:12:19.960 --> 0:12:22.440
<v Speaker 3>here at the MTA, and we think it's going to

0:12:22.480 --> 0:12:28.439
<v Speaker 3>be a great service to our customers. It's going to

0:12:29.320 --> 0:12:32.960
<v Speaker 3>serve about one hundred thousand customers in addition to the

0:12:33.000 --> 0:12:36.640
<v Speaker 3>two hundred thousand customers that's Second Avenue Subway Phase one

0:12:37.360 --> 0:12:38.160
<v Speaker 3>serves today.

0:12:38.600 --> 0:12:41.040
<v Speaker 5>Do you have a timeline or an expected timeline.

0:12:41.160 --> 0:12:45.760
<v Speaker 3>I think the twenty thirty two was the service date

0:12:45.840 --> 0:12:48.240
<v Speaker 3>that we have said publicly.

0:12:48.720 --> 0:12:50.520
<v Speaker 2>It's a very like I said at the beginning, it's

0:12:50.559 --> 0:12:53.480
<v Speaker 2>an enviable task that you have ahead of you. Some

0:12:53.480 --> 0:12:57.000
<v Speaker 2>people would argue, I would imagine that you spend quite

0:12:57.000 --> 0:12:59.560
<v Speaker 2>a bit of time studying other transit systems around the

0:12:59.559 --> 0:13:03.280
<v Speaker 2>world's worked and what hasn't worked. If you could waive

0:13:03.280 --> 0:13:06.280
<v Speaker 2>a magic wand here in New York City to overcome

0:13:06.320 --> 0:13:09.560
<v Speaker 2>some of the barriers that the MTA has experienced, whether

0:13:09.600 --> 0:13:13.480
<v Speaker 2>they're financial barriers, whether they're CAPEX barriers, what.

0:13:13.480 --> 0:13:14.280
<v Speaker 1>Would those be like?

0:13:14.280 --> 0:13:17.360
<v Speaker 2>What is the biggest obstacle to making the service even

0:13:17.400 --> 0:13:17.920
<v Speaker 2>better here?

0:13:18.559 --> 0:13:20.720
<v Speaker 3>So I think tim one thing that I would say

0:13:20.800 --> 0:13:24.559
<v Speaker 3>is MTA is a leader and being the largest agency

0:13:24.559 --> 0:13:27.640
<v Speaker 3>in North America, other agencies look to us. I think

0:13:27.880 --> 0:13:30.680
<v Speaker 3>I said this before we led with the fiscal cliff,

0:13:30.800 --> 0:13:33.600
<v Speaker 3>we lead with our capital program as well. We have

0:13:33.720 --> 0:13:37.480
<v Speaker 3>started to do things differently since Janel Lieber took over

0:13:37.600 --> 0:13:41.000
<v Speaker 3>for CND and now Jamie Torres Springer. We do design, build,

0:13:41.080 --> 0:13:47.120
<v Speaker 3>we do faster, cheaper and better. But we're employing definitely

0:13:47.240 --> 0:13:51.120
<v Speaker 3>different ways of doing capital programs as well as operating

0:13:52.040 --> 0:13:53.319
<v Speaker 3>for us to be better.

0:13:55.200 --> 0:13:58.760
<v Speaker 2>I want to go back to congestion pricing and some

0:13:58.880 --> 0:14:04.000
<v Speaker 2>financial questions around at specifically about selling debt off of revenues?

0:14:04.240 --> 0:14:07.040
<v Speaker 2>Do you have plans to sell debt off of revenues

0:14:07.040 --> 0:14:08.040
<v Speaker 2>from congestion pricing?

0:14:08.559 --> 0:14:12.440
<v Speaker 3>So, as you know, the congestion revenue is dedicated to

0:14:12.480 --> 0:14:15.360
<v Speaker 3>the twenty to twenty four capital program. It is expected

0:14:15.400 --> 0:14:19.200
<v Speaker 3>to generate fifteen billion for that program, and once we

0:14:19.240 --> 0:14:21.840
<v Speaker 3>see a stable market in the revenues coming in.

0:14:21.880 --> 0:14:24.520
<v Speaker 4>We do plan to issue debt. We've talked about it.

0:14:24.600 --> 0:14:27.640
<v Speaker 3>That's not sometime until twenty twenty six for US. Once

0:14:27.680 --> 0:14:30.960
<v Speaker 3>we see a comfortable stream of revenue. We've projected five

0:14:31.040 --> 0:14:33.640
<v Speaker 3>hundred million for the next three years and we want

0:14:33.680 --> 0:14:35.760
<v Speaker 3>to make sure that we see that revenue and the

0:14:35.800 --> 0:14:38.120
<v Speaker 3>markets are comfortable issuing that debt for us.

0:14:38.280 --> 0:14:43.360
<v Speaker 2>You've talked about fare increases on MTA services, what about

0:14:43.360 --> 0:14:44.960
<v Speaker 2>increases in congestion pricing?

0:14:45.000 --> 0:14:46.320
<v Speaker 1>And what is the timeline for that?

0:14:46.800 --> 0:14:50.040
<v Speaker 3>So, as the governor has said to us, right, it's

0:14:50.320 --> 0:14:54.000
<v Speaker 3>the toll will continue to be nine dollars for three years,

0:14:54.040 --> 0:14:57.400
<v Speaker 3>then it'll increase gradually to the next three years at

0:14:57.400 --> 0:14:59.880
<v Speaker 3>twelve dollars, and then in the final the seventh year,

0:15:00.000 --> 0:15:03.440
<v Speaker 3>it'll be a fifteen dollars. SI is a toll, So

0:15:03.520 --> 0:15:06.760
<v Speaker 3>we've already had that phased in based on the schedule

0:15:06.880 --> 0:15:07.680
<v Speaker 3>we approved.

0:15:07.840 --> 0:15:09.840
<v Speaker 2>Can you just bring us I know there's litigation around

0:15:09.840 --> 0:15:11.720
<v Speaker 2>this with the federal government and with the state, but

0:15:11.800 --> 0:15:14.600
<v Speaker 2>can you just take us into conversations that you've had

0:15:15.120 --> 0:15:18.840
<v Speaker 2>with counterparts at the Department of Transportation over the last

0:15:18.840 --> 0:15:23.400
<v Speaker 2>few months about making sure that the MTA stays on

0:15:23.440 --> 0:15:24.840
<v Speaker 2>a sustainable financial path.

0:15:25.720 --> 0:15:28.160
<v Speaker 3>So I think you know what I would say is

0:15:28.280 --> 0:15:32.040
<v Speaker 3>the federal government contributes two billion dollars to the MTA,

0:15:32.120 --> 0:15:35.680
<v Speaker 3>and that's a revenue source that we rely on to

0:15:35.760 --> 0:15:38.000
<v Speaker 3>keep the system in a state of good repair, and

0:15:38.000 --> 0:15:41.680
<v Speaker 3>so we would continue to want that funding. You know,

0:15:41.960 --> 0:15:46.160
<v Speaker 3>MTA moves forty percent of riders across North America but

0:15:46.240 --> 0:15:50.160
<v Speaker 3>receives only a fraction of federal dollars from Washington. And

0:15:50.240 --> 0:15:52.520
<v Speaker 3>so we continue to rely on the federal dollars that

0:15:52.560 --> 0:15:54.280
<v Speaker 3>we get and it's important for us.

0:15:54.360 --> 0:15:57.080
<v Speaker 1>But what's the backup plan if that evaporates.

0:15:57.400 --> 0:16:02.240
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, we're confident, right that the MTA and the federal government,

0:16:02.960 --> 0:16:06.000
<v Speaker 3>the federal judge that is designed, right, we we're confident

0:16:06.040 --> 0:16:08.960
<v Speaker 3>that we would win that lawsuit. You know, Judge Lineman

0:16:09.120 --> 0:16:12.360
<v Speaker 3>issued a positive finding for the MTA just a few

0:16:12.360 --> 0:16:15.920
<v Speaker 3>months ago. And congestion pricing is, you know, continuing to

0:16:16.000 --> 0:16:18.080
<v Speaker 3>operate and we're generating the funding.

0:16:18.920 --> 0:16:19.600
<v Speaker 4>I imagine.

0:16:19.680 --> 0:16:22.120
<v Speaker 5>You know, you get a lot of people who hear

0:16:22.640 --> 0:16:25.760
<v Speaker 5>these numbers. Congestion pricing is on tractoris five hundred million.

0:16:26.120 --> 0:16:28.080
<v Speaker 5>They say, wow, that sounds like a lot of money.

0:16:29.080 --> 0:16:32.520
<v Speaker 5>Why are you know, why are the subways still the

0:16:32.560 --> 0:16:38.920
<v Speaker 5>way that they are? Delays, crime on cleanliness? Help us

0:16:39.000 --> 0:16:41.000
<v Speaker 5>just understand. I know that you said that a lot

0:16:41.000 --> 0:16:44.280
<v Speaker 5>of those fares go towards paying workers, But a number

0:16:44.400 --> 0:16:47.160
<v Speaker 5>like this, a number like five hundred million, what does

0:16:47.160 --> 0:16:50.440
<v Speaker 5>it mean in the context for the broader MTA organization

0:16:50.640 --> 0:16:52.760
<v Speaker 5>is that a lot of money.

0:16:52.840 --> 0:16:54.360
<v Speaker 4>So I'll give you context.

0:16:54.480 --> 0:16:59.320
<v Speaker 3>Our operating budget every every year is about twenty billion dollars, right,

0:16:59.360 --> 0:17:03.240
<v Speaker 3>That is to on subways, buses, commuter rails and the

0:17:03.280 --> 0:17:07.280
<v Speaker 3>services for six million commuters every day. But in order

0:17:07.280 --> 0:17:09.479
<v Speaker 3>for us to keep that system running, you have to

0:17:09.520 --> 0:17:12.800
<v Speaker 3>maintain it, right, and so sixty eight point four billion

0:17:12.840 --> 0:17:16.159
<v Speaker 3>dollars a good majority of that funding is to keep

0:17:16.200 --> 0:17:19.800
<v Speaker 3>it in a state of good repair. That means new railcars,

0:17:20.000 --> 0:17:25.400
<v Speaker 3>new buses, new signal upgrades, track maintenance, and everything else

0:17:25.440 --> 0:17:29.399
<v Speaker 3>that goes with operating a system that's so vast in size.

0:17:30.080 --> 0:17:32.679
<v Speaker 3>So five hundred million dollars is just one stream of

0:17:32.760 --> 0:17:36.240
<v Speaker 3>revenue that generates when we leverage it fifteen billion dollars

0:17:36.640 --> 0:17:40.320
<v Speaker 3>to continue with the capital side of the world, but

0:17:40.359 --> 0:17:44.760
<v Speaker 3>the operating side has different funding sources. But we're confident

0:17:44.800 --> 0:17:48.360
<v Speaker 3>that we, you know, move six million customers every single day,

0:17:48.400 --> 0:17:50.240
<v Speaker 3>and we're happy to do that safely.

0:17:50.680 --> 0:17:54.920
<v Speaker 2>Jpittel, CFO of the Metropolitan Transit Authority, joining us here

0:17:55.040 --> 0:17:56.679
<v Speaker 2>in the Bloomberg BusinessWeek studio