Breaking down the MTA’s new capital plan

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — Gov. Kathy Hochul canceled congestion pricing , leaving a $15 billion hole in the budget of the Metro Transit Authority, which operates public transit throughout New York City, Long Island, and the lower Hudson Valley. On September 18, the MTA released its Capital Plan for 2025 to 2029, which aims to keep them from falling into that hole.

Reached for comment Friday morning, Hochul said, “From the moment I took office, I’ve fought for public transit—advancing major projects like the Second Avenue Subway and rescuing the MTA from the ‘fiscal cliff’ last year. We will review the MTA’s proposal for the upcoming 5-year capital plan and fight to secure as much funding as possible. That includes pressuring Washington to deliver additional infrastructure dollars and working with our partners in the Legislature and City Hall to determine priorities and capacity during the upcoming budget negotiations.”

You can check out the entire 119-page plan at the end of this story. It outlines the strategies for investments in large projects, detailing where they need funding to update or build new facilities. It’s focused on more frequent, dependable service, upgraded elevators and signal systems, and all-new trains and buses, which would improve the local transit system for about 75% of riders.

A mix of city, state, and federal money traditionally funds MTA Capital Plans, which come in five-year chunks. This one accounts for over $68 billion for maintenance and daily service, outlining several major projects:

• New railcars: $10.9 billion
• Critical structure repairs: $9 billion
• Station environment improvements: $7.8 billion
• Accessible stations: $7.1 billion
• Modernized signals: $5.4 billion
• Power system improvements: $4 billion
• Interborough Express: $2.75 billion
• Maintenance facility upgrades: $2 billion
• Grand Central Artery rebuild: $1.7 billion
• Zero-emission buses: $1.4 billion
• Modern fare gates: $1.1 billion
• Hudson Line protection: $800 million
• Stormwater flood defense: $700 million

The region the MTA serves generates over 80% of New York’s income tax and 65% of its sales tax, according to the plan. And MTA said that its 2020 to 2024 Capital Plan generated $62 billion in spending, with 90% benefiting the state. The infographic below, from page 31, details the regional construction firms, manufacturers, and suppliers the company works with across New York.

The network transports tens of millions of people weekly while making deals that support small minority- and women-owned businesses. The company said that its cautious investments prioritize safety and quality by reducing delays, installing new security features like cameras and gates, and making stations more accessible.

A weapon against climate change, the MTA’s public subway and regional rail lines nerf about 4.5 million cars worth of carbon emissions each year. Investments in zero-emission trains and buses would lower that carbon footprint even more as they retrofit stations to better withstand extreme weather risks like heat waves and flooding from storms or rising sea levels.

A report from State Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal found that, beyond giving commuters more options or decreasing air pollution, a stronger public transit system would make New York City objectively safer. Per the report, which you can read at the bottom of this story, street-level congestion and gridlocked traffic slow down response times, which could be fatal in a medical emergency.

EMS response times for life-threatening emergencies increased by 29% between 2014 and 2024, from 9.6 to 12.4 minutes. And fire department medical emergencies saw a 70% jump over the past decade in the city, rising from 8.3 to 14.3 minutes. Plus, police department responses to critical incidents, like shootings and robberies, grew by nearly 2 minutes, from 7.9 to 9.7 minutes, according to Hoylman-Sigal’s report.

MTA said it will start on its projects—creating more reliable, accessible, and environmentally friendly transit—whenever funding is secured. MTA manages over a trillion dollars in “infrastructure assets” requiring expensive maintenance. The plan refers to a 2024 J.P. Morgan study suggesting that spending $23 billion annually would keep the MTA at the same level as its peers in the transit sector.

Where would the money come from ? State Sen. Rob Rolison, a Republican representing the 39th Senate District of New York, suggested “clawing back unpaid tolls and fares that total in the hundreds of millions of dollars.” After all, the MTA Blue Ribbon Panel found almost $700 million in revenue lost to fare and toll evasion in 2023.

But even a figure that large can’t close the gap created by Hochul’s decision to cancel congestion pricing. As explained by New York political watchdog group Reinvent Albany , the previous capital plan lost out on $15 billion in revenue from what would have been new tolls. That compounds with another roughly $4 billion matching federal and state funds lost, totaling $19 billion. Were congestion pricing to start immediately, the new plan needs over $30 billion in either new state taxes or loans that would spike fares for riders.

And according to Danny Pearlstein, the policy and communications with the New York public transit advocates Riders Alliance, “Adjusting for inflation, the governor’s capital program is $1 billion smaller than the last one. In contrast, her highway plan is 40% bigger than the one before it.”

“The MTA Capital Plan is a significant step forward,” said John Evers, president of the American Council of Engineering Companies of New York . But, “a commitment from our state and city leaders to fully fund this five-year plan is necessary, along with the implementation of the congestion pricing program.”

Check out the video from June of Hochul announcing her decision to block congestion pricing from taking effect in New York City:

And take a look at the MTA’s 2025-2029 Capital Plan below:

And here’s Sen. Hoylman-Sigal’s report on gridlock and congestion:

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