Cuomo Proposes Congestion Pricing Panel, Other MTA Reforms

(Bloomberg) -- New York governor Andrew Cuomo announced a series of amendments to the 2020 executive budget that will "will establish accountability, provide new funding, and overhaul the MTA’s archaic bureaucracy," the governor’s office said in a statement.

• Proposal entails a six-person "expert panel" to set congestion rates and provide oversight of MTA finance and operations
• Congestion rates would be set using a variable pricing structure, and prohibit the use of congestion revenues for non-capital spending
  • Says expected revenue generated by the plan would provide $15 billion for the MTA’s next capital budget, which begins in 2020 and runs through the end of 2024
• Amendments require the MTA to develop a "comprehensive reorganization plan" to end the agency’s decades of mismanagement and bureaucracy." Plans would be subject to the approval of the expert panel.
• NOTE: Feb. 7, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Thursday warned of a possible 30 percent subway fare increase if state lawmakers do not approve a congestion pricing plan that would pay for improvements to the subway system, the New York Times reported.

To contact the reporter on this story: Meghan Genovese in New York at mgenovese@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Chakradhar Adusumilli at cadusumilli@bloomberg.net

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