Deal Close To Saving Student MetroCards
One of the most talked about aspects of the MTA’s financial woes was the discontinuation of Student MetroCards. There were two clear camps on this, those who feel the students should not lose their free rides to & from school, & those who feel that enough is enough with the handouts. According to an exclusive report in the New York Post by Tom Namako & Brendan Scott, the MTA & state lawmakers are close to a deal that will save the Student MetroCards for the upcoming school year:
The MTA and state lawmakers are finalizing a bill to save free student MetroCards for the next school year – a deal that could sink the transit agency further into debt.
Under the agreement, the state will contribute $25 million to the program, the city will give $45 million and the MTA will foot the remaining $144 million, as first reported by The Post.
Lawmakers are working to insert the agreement into a budget bill, expected to be introduced late tonight. The measure, which is not considered controversial, will likely be voted on tomorrow.
The agency is expected to make up the money used for the fares by further fattening its $400 million budget shortfall for 2010 and 2011, sources said.
That could mean more dire cost-saving measures.
Transit brass originally proposed cutting the student passes in December as a way to save money.
The state contribution to the free-card program would actually decrease from the current $45 million.
Click here for the complete report.
I have mixed emotions about this. I understand the need for students to get to & from school & I want them to be able to do just that. On the other hand, it does bother me that a good percentage of the students could care less about their education & run rampant throughout our transit system on the taxpayers dollar. What really pains me is how the MTA would once again get the short-end of the stick in terms of the money dished out for these MetroCards.
If the city & state are so adamant about students being able to ride, they should pony up 100% of the money necessary to provide this service. Why should the MTA have to foot the bill when they are clearly undergoing financial hardship mainly due to the inadequate funding from these same lawmakers. These lawmakers could honestly careless about the students as they only support this luxury to look good to their constituents with zero regard for the MTA & overall riding public’s bottom line.
When the MTA is forced to look into more service cuts or fare hikes due to their budget woes, these same lawmakers, wanting the MTA to foot the majority of the cost for this program, will be the first to cry about the MTA’s out of control costs.. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! When will these lawmakers learn that you can’t have it both ways or do they just not care as long as they get what they want behind closed doors while saving face & keeping their position & status? So sad…….
xoxo Transit Blogger
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Comments
It was the right decision on the MTA’s part because they provide a vital city service. All of the agencies must work together and if one agency doesn’t have enough money, another agency should cover their expenses, or else the city will be full of kids on the streets, causing crime, and eventually living on welfare because they couldn’t get a decent education.
Of course, this is more of an argument as to why the city should put more funding towards the Student MetroCard program.
I have an idea for how the NYCDOE could come up with the money. If they let children skip certain designated grades, the savings could be tremendous. If they get out of school a year earlier, they are in the workforce, paying taxes, a year earlier. If not, at least the city doesn’t have to spend money to educate them.
On a lesser scale, they could allow high school children to take a test and bypass a class. For example, a student can take a Regents exam without sitting through the class and get out 45 minutes earlier. Once again, they aren’t being educated with the city’s money and could potentially be paying taxes (and with the extra spending money, they put the money back into the economy).
I’d estimate that out of 1.1 million students, if 50,000 of them could skip one grade, at $7,000 per year per student, that would be $35,000,000 saved. Add in extra tax revenue, and keep in mind that this is a conservative estimate, and the savings can be $50,000,000 annually.
Another way to reduce costs would be to cut down on how much money they pay yellow school bus operators. They spent $680 million on yellow school bus transportation in 2002, compared to $1.005 billion, a 47% increase. However, during the same time period, they cut their contribution to the Student MetroCard program from $108 million to $70 million, a 35% decrease. If, instead, they had increased the amount they paid to the MTA by 47%, that would be an extra $58 million, which could be rasied by cutting 6% off the budget for yellow school bus transportation, since the private operators factor in a profit margin.
I think the NYCDOE should receive a bulk discount for the Student MetroCard program. Not a 70% discount, like today, but a modest 20%-30% discount. If the total amount they contributed were raised to $160 million, that would be about a 25% discount off of the $214 million the MTA says it loses in fares.
It was the right decision on the MTA’s part because they provide a vital city service. All of the agencies must work together and if one agency doesn’t have enough money, another agency should cover their expenses, or else the city will be full of kids on the streets, causing crime, and eventually living on welfare because they couldn’t get a decent education.
Of course, this is more of an argument as to why the city should put more funding towards the Student MetroCard program.
I have an idea for how the NYCDOE could come up with the money. If they let children skip certain designated grades, the savings could be tremendous. If they get out of school a year earlier, they are in the workforce, paying taxes, a year earlier. If not, at least the city doesn’t have to spend money to educate them.
On a lesser scale, they could allow high school children to take a test and bypass a class. For example, a student can take a Regents exam without sitting through the class and get out 45 minutes earlier. Once again, they aren’t being educated with the city’s money and could potentially be paying taxes (and with the extra spending money, they put the money back into the economy).
I’d estimate that out of 1.1 million students, if 50,000 of them could skip one grade, at $7,000 per year per student, that would be $35,000,000 saved. Add in extra tax revenue, and keep in mind that this is a conservative estimate, and the savings can be $50,000,000 annually.
Another way to reduce costs would be to cut down on how much money they pay yellow school bus operators. They spent $680 million on yellow school bus transportation in 2002, compared to $1.005 billion, a 47% increase. However, during the same time period, they cut their contribution to the Student MetroCard program from $108 million to $70 million, a 35% decrease. If, instead, they had increased the amount they paid to the MTA by 47%, that would be an extra $58 million, which could be rasied by cutting 6% off the budget for yellow school bus transportation, since the private operators factor in a profit margin.
I think the NYCDOE should receive a bulk discount for the Student MetroCard program. Not a 70% discount, like today, but a modest 20%-30% discount. If the total amount they contributed were raised to $160 million, that would be about a 25% discount off of the $214 million the MTA says it loses in fares.
As far as service reductions to raise some money to offset the cost of the Student MetroCards, I think that certain reductions could’ve saved them a lot of money if they were done in the past. Out of the $93 million in service reductions, only about $10 million of the reductions would’ve posed a real hardship to commuters in certain neighborhoods. That means there could’ve been $83 million in savings. Multiply that by 5 years, and that’s over $400 million in savings, half of their budget gap.
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