Good morning. I am Andrew Rein, President of the Citizens Budget Commission, a nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank and watchdog dedicated to constructive change in the finances, services, and policies of New York City and New York State governments, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).   

CBC strongly supports MTA’s implementation of congestion pricing—to reduce traffic, protect the environment, and invest in our transit system infrastructure. 

Insufficient investment in bringing the system to and keeping it in a state of good repair would result in deterioration of our capital assets, our economy, and our quality of life. 

This priority is paramount before expanding the system, lest the current network deteriorate to the point of frequent failure. 

MTA’s recent Twenty-Year Needs Assessment improved on its predecessors by laying bare more details of the dire condition of some of the system’s current assets, and providing cost-benefit analyses of possible expansion projects. 

But it did not provide critical information needed for a well-informed public discussion about what investments are essential and the tradeoffs that will ultimately be made in the next capital program. 

CBC again urges the MTA to publish an addendum—prior to the release of the capital program—that includes detailed estimates of the costs, benefits, and timelines, for all assets and investment needs in the categories of “Rebuild” and “Improve” the system, including those that bring assets to and keep the system in a state of good repair. 

These should include estimated costs over the next 5 and 20 years, understanding that estimates far into the future will likely be less accurate. 

Right now, the public does not have a clue whether it would take $40 billion, $80 billion, or even more over the next five years to begin bringing the system to adequate condition. And how much of a dent would that put in the percent of the system that is now in poor or marginal condition? 

This addendum is needed for a thorough and transparent discussion of what tradeoffs will be required by the reality of resource, vendor, and capacity constraints.  

Transparency is the right thing for the system, and it will help ensure the right investments are made in our critical public transit assets. 

Thank you.