

Despite record ridership in 2017-during what many New Yorkers dubbed the “ Summer of Hell“-the inflation-adjusted budget for the MTA was roughly the same as in 1994.

That’s not to say things haven’t been worse. There are some big issues waiting to be solved with that cash infusion: home to 8.5 million people and host to another few million commuters each day (in addition to some 65 million tourists each year), New York City has 99 problems and congestion is all of them. If implemented, the funds could modernize the subway signal system, replace old buses, upgrade commuter railways, and repair bridges and tunnels. On September 25, the board of New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority approved a $51.5 billion plan to improve subways, buses, and commuter rail.
